Not a bad way to round off the weekend is it, really? Or to start the new week? Regardless of which way you look at it, winning another house is good no matter what time of the week it comes. I’m referring to the house bet that was advised in the game between Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan; Mohun to win was the advice I gave and it could be argued that I’m turning into a postman because I always deliver.
Willis At It Again
In the final report of the day, we’ll have a mooch over Mohun’s comeback against Churchill Brothers, have a look at what was said afterwards and there will undoubtedly be some piss-taking at some point. It’s in my nature, you know what I mean?
After notching a brace versus Delhi in the qualifiers, Willis Plaza was in on the act once more as he put Churchill Brother in the lead and if anyone tells you that it wasn’t deserved, they’re lying to you.
Willis had a lot to do when he received the ball but with the form, he is currently showing, it was hardly surprising that he found the back of the net which looked like it was going to mean that going into the interval, Churchill Brothers would have the lead.
Well, that was until Nicholas Fernandes went from hero to zero (he assisted Willis) as he conceded a penalty. Willis Plaza may well be in-form at the moment, but Mohun have the I-League’s top scorer amongst their ranks in Aser Dipanda and he wasn’t going to miss from twelve yards. Hang on, he did! He converted the rebound though, no drama. 1-1 at the break.
Could Dipanda Be ISL Bound?
We had to wait twenty-five second-half minutes for another goal and it turned out to be the decisive one. Dipanda was in the right place at the right time to complete the turnaround and that was the end of that. If Dipanda is not in the ISL come the start of next season, I’ll be gobsmacked, he’s scored twenty-four goals in thirty-five games over the course of the last two I-League campaigns.
So, yeah, Mohun go marching on as Churchill are left to lick their wounds. Mohun gaffer, Sankarlal Chakraborty, much like Bengaluru’s Roca, was only too aware of his side’s slow start;
“After the I-League we had a 10-day break. So it takes time to build the combination after that. We didn’t practice on this ground and so initially, there were too many miss passes. But as the game progressed our passing got organised but unfortunately we conceded the goal at that point in time. But we made a comeback,”
He then carried on and said that his side were going to be better in the quarter-finals:
“We knew that Churchill plays long ball. The goals which Willis Plaza scored against Delhi Dynamos were from long balls. So we were alert. We took some time to organise but with the course of the game but we adjusted well.”
“We Should Have Scored More”
“We should have scored (more) in the first half as well as we got the chances. We could have scored more goals in the second half as well but we missed too many chances. We are working on that and will definitely improve.”
Sankarlal closed by touching on the finishing of Dipanda’s partner in crime, Akram Moghrabi…
“Akram Moghrabi created the chance for Dipanda’s goal. Yes, he missed quite a few chances but I am sure he will make a comeback strongly in the next match.”
Looks like extra shooting practice is on the cards for Akram, unlucky.
Churchill manager, Alfred Fernandes, rued the impact Mohun’s equaliser later in the first-half had on his side;
“The penalty at the end of the first half cost us the match. 1-0 at half-time is always a great morale booster for the side. The last-minute equaliser lifted Mohun Bagan’s morale. They came back strongly after that.”
Difficult to argue with that. He then came out with this gem, which is right out of the Joao de Deus handbook…
Is Alfred Fernandes Actually Joao De Deus In Disguise?
“We had a lot of opportunities, especially in the last 10 minutes of the match. The result could have been different if we had scored. But sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The boys gave their best. We missed two crucial chances in the end.”
The result could have been different if we had scored, stop the press, I think we’ve found a successor to Einstein. Alfred does go on to talk about the fact that this was the third game in a row that has seen Mohun get the better of Churchill, but let’s not worry about that.
That’s your lot for today from me, I’ll be back tomorrow with a report on the Jamshedpur’s clash with Minerva. It’s a tough one to call, however, I think Jamshedpur will have just about enough. Jamshedpur to win on penalties. You heard it here first.
Until the next time.
