Experts in any sport, say that there is no practice like match practice. So keeping with this view point, Mohun bagan, after having a good training session at kalimpong, arranged for some pre-season warm up matches, so as to sharpen there skills within a match situation.
First match was against ‘Kalimpong 11’.The pitch condition was poor.The match was played in a sandy pitch even with heavy rainfall but the ‘mongoose-trained’ mariners got away with one sided 5-0 scoreline______the best start of the season that can be. But because of the poor pitch condition Branco & Azim suffered minor injury.
Continuing with their pre season training schedule, Mohun Bagan entertained Customs XI.The contest was always tipped to be a David vs Goliath affair and so coach Karim Bencharifa decided to give the young stars a go. The game saw a total Bagan domination with good link up play from new recruit Edeh Chiddi and Subho Kumar along with good wing play from Snehashish and James Singh, but the finishing left a lot to be desired as Isfaq Ahmed and Lalramruaha wasted guilt-edged opportunities to put Bagan ahead. Mid-way through the first half though, Bagan took the lead. A brilliant defence splitting pass by James Singh coupled with a smart dummy by substitute Karthik Kisku, set up Snehashish on the left and he slid the ball past the on-rushing goalie to open the scoring. Second half was much better though with Biswajit Saha's long range effort just missing the target and Edeh Chiddi's powerful shot smartly saved by the Customs goalie. Bagan though got their second goal and it was Edeh Chiddi whose brilliant touch set up Biswajit Saha on the left and he chipped the onrushing goalkeeper to double Bagan's tally. There was relentless pressure from the home team but good defending and some poor finishing put paid to any more goals. It was a thoroughly enjoyable match for the sparsh crowd that gathered at Mohun Bagan ground and the young stars like Karthik Kisku and Subhojit were heartily applauded for their effort and skills. The positives from the game was the authority showed by the makeshift bagan defence where Sukhram Mandi, Karan Atwal, Biswajit Saha, Rino Anto and Subhojit played a stellar role and never allowed any attack to grow. The one worrying factor though was the finishing and Karim Bencharifa is surely going to look into the matter.
After customizing Customs, mariners faced ‘Barrackpore Army 11’.It was a tough opponent for Bagan & army played physical game more than technical as expected. Experts say that football is not only about body but also about brain. This simple fact was proved once again when Kartik Kisku fooled the army goalie & Chiddi had nothing to do than pushing the ball into the net_____1-0.In the first half new recruit Santakumar drew everyone’s attention. His speed & skill indicates that there will be a round of reviews to build the first eleven. In the second half Karim introduced fresh legs. One was most talked about recruit of this year TOMBA.He showed some flashes of his past skills & scored an excellent 2nd.Then it was Suroj’s turn to score the stylish 3rd.
For the last match Mohun Bagan had a trip to Burdwan district. There they faced Kalyan Smriti Sangha or KSS in short. This is a well known club of Burdwan.KSS played counter attack based football but Mandi-Atwal-Biswajit-James were too tough to be infiltrated.Suroj kept consistency & scored the first one then Chiddi did justice to his name scoring next two.Finally,the match ended with 3-0.Mohun Bagan got rapturous applause from Burdwan crowd.
These friendly matches were not much of a competition but it gave the players a good platform to check their fitness and nurture there skills for the coming season. It also gave certain young stars like Santa Kumar, Karthik Kisku, Subhojit, Biswajit Saha, Sukhram Mandi to show their talent and stake their claims for first team football…..everything said and done, a good pre-season and a good squad is what we have on our hands….now let the show begin……
Reported by: Mr.Debabrata Dutta,Mr.Biswanath Chatterjee.
Photo courtsey: Mr.Biswanath Chatterjee.
After customizing Customs, mariners faced ‘Barrackpore Army 11’.It was a tough opponent for Bagan & army played physical game more than technical as expected. Experts say that football is not only about body but also about brain. This simple fact was proved once again when Kartik Kisku fooled the army goalie & Chiddi had nothing to do than pushing the ball into the net_____1-0.In the first half new recruit Santakumar drew everyone’s attention. His speed & skill indicates that there will be a round of reviews to build the first eleven. In the second half Karim introduced fresh legs. One was most talked about recruit of this year TOMBA.He showed some flashes of his past skills & scored an excellent 2nd.Then it was Suroj’s turn to score the stylish 3rd.
For the last match Mohun Bagan had a trip to Burdwan district. There they faced Kalyan Smriti Sangha or KSS in short. This is a well known club of Burdwan.KSS played counter attack based football but Mandi-Atwal-Biswajit-James were too tough to be infiltrated.Suroj kept consistency & scored the first one then Chiddi did justice to his name scoring next two.Finally,the match ended with 3-0.Mohun Bagan got rapturous applause from Burdwan crowd.
These friendly matches were not much of a competition but it gave the players a good platform to check their fitness and nurture there skills for the coming season. It also gave certain young stars like Santa Kumar, Karthik Kisku, Subhojit, Biswajit Saha, Sukhram Mandi to show their talent and stake their claims for first team football…..everything said and done, a good pre-season and a good squad is what we have on our hands….now let the show begin……
Reported by: Mr.Debabrata Dutta,Mr.Biswanath Chatterjee.
Photo courtsey: Mr.Biswanath Chatterjee.
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