By Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay
I-League Media

NEW DELHI: Second game week of Hero I-League saw no change in the league table as Mohun Bagan held the pinnacle spot owing to their back-to-back home wins. Bengaluru FC, the 2013-14 I-League champions, continue to dominate away from home and kept the champions under pressure, who were able to keep their nose in front thanks to superior goal difference.

Hero I-League game week 2 landed a milestone in Indian football with Aizawl, the picturesque city in Mizoram, hosting its first ever Hero I-League match, against mighty Bengaluru FC. Rajiv Gandhi Stadium was flooded with supporters. Aizawl FC spurred valiant football right from the kick-off in front of their supporters, who were reciprocating well from the stands. Bengaluru FC slowly started to take control and Curtis Osano, the lanky defender, headed it home in the 22nd minute. Aizawl FC didn’t pull the plug rather tried to encash the home advantage as much as they could, only to have left the ground empty-handed. Having flown to Aizawl grabbing all three points from Goa, Bengaluru FC managed to earn another three points from their second match in Hero I-League 2015-16.

Mohun Bagan, defending champions, showed nervy approach in their season opener against Aizawl FC and pushed harder to rearrange themselves in the second outing of Hero I-League 2015-16. Katsumi Yusa, who was handed the armband, showed his cunning goal-scoring ability in the 8th minute. Karanjit fumbled while grabbing the ball and Katsumi rightly headed it home to grab an early lead. Cornell Glen, the Trinidad & Tobago striker, continued his lethal form and earned a penalty while Rocus Lamare brought him down inside the box. The striker found the back of the net from the spot and doubled the lead in the 27th minute. Luciano Sabrosa, the defender who has donned many Indian club colours before, made his Mohun Bagan debut memorable when he found the roof of the net thanks to his crispy header. Souvik Chakraborty sailed the ball from corner and Luciano, completely unmarked by Salgaocar FC defenders, took a giant leap and scored the third goal for the Mariners. Mohun Bagan started their journey after the breather where they left in the first half. Balwant Singh, the ‘fox in the box’, found the net just 3 minutes into second half from a brilliant header. Salgaocar FC defenders fell aghast and their listless performance frustrated their gaffer once again. Akin to their first outing, Mohun Bagan defense started to panic of late and conceded first goal in the 69th minute, owing to their casual approach. Darryl Duffy, the astute striker, took complete advantage of mariners’ murky attitude and scored his second goal of Hero I-League 2015-16. Gurjinder Kumar undoubtedly scored one of the finest goals in Hero I-League 2015-16 eight minutes towards the end and it’ll be one of the goals which will be etched in history. Had it caused a little more to team’s win, it would have been merrier for Gurjinder. His low volley from outside the box bisected Mohun Bagan defense and Debjit fell short to parry it away. Although Mariners registered second consecutive victory at Barasat Stadium, gaffer Sanjoy Sen will look to overhaul his defensive plans ahead of the high-octane derby on 23rd January.

DSK Shivajians, the newest entrants in Hero I-League family, embarked their journey against veteran Sporting Clube de Goa at Fatorda. Indrajeet Chougale left Flaming Oranje defenders bewildered with his lightning speed and he percolated the edgy Sporting defence quite often, only to have miscued it every time. DSK defenders deserved all the accolades to calm Odafa down and the Nigerian striker didn’t have anything to take home from this outing. Subrata Paul, the seasoned custodian, made his DSK debut memorable with his gallant display.  Flaming Oranje almost grabbed a late goal courtesy DSK defenders’ lackluster show towards the end, but Paul staged a goal line save to minimize the threat posed by Sporting attackers. Sporting Clube de Goa shared the point with DSK Shivajians, who are slated to play against Aizawl FC next week.

Mumbai FC welcomed the glamorous Red & Gold outfit in their first home game of Hero I-League 2015-16. Mumbai FC set their foot on the gas right from the whistle and earned not less than 4 corners in the early minutes of the game. Kingfisher East Bengal slowly started to pounce back and started to capitalize on counter attacks. The Bengal giants took the control of the match in the second half and tried everything, only to be frustrated by Mumbai FC defense time and again. Following this goalless draw, East Bengal jumped to third spot in the table with four points from two outings, two points shy of the leaders.