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SECOND HALF
Sriram with a chipped ball to find his attacker but no one gets on to it. That's the last meaningful action. Chennai City snaps Mohun Bagan's seven-match winning run by holding it to a 1-1 draw. Despite this draw, Bagan looks comfortable to claim the I-League title. Here's the points table.
90' +2' Good interchange between Ghosh and Beitia ends in the latter only managing a weak shot from the edge of the box. Santana gets behind the shot to make the save.
90' +1' Ajith fails to latch on to a pass from the centre and the ball goes for a throw in.
90' Naorem runs in with the ball from the left but his pass doesn't find a Bagan attacker. Three minutes of added time.
89' Mashoor is booked after he throws the ball away in anger over a thrown in call.
CCFC SUB: Suhail Pasha comes on for Jockson.
85' Save from Santana! Beitia's free-kick from the right is met by Diawara's header but Santana reacts to it by slapping it away before creeping into the net.
84' A chance for CCFC to catch Bagan on the break but the referee puts his flag up for offside against Yusa. The Japanese is incensed at the decision.
82' The ball falls onto the path of Gonzalez, whose shot is blocked by Eslava before it rolls onto the path of Santana.
82' Mashoor with a foul on Diawara and a free-kick for Beitia to make something of.
81' Good interchange between the Bagan attackers but it fails to fall into the path of Ghosh..
80' Jishnu with an off-the-ball foul and the referee spots it. A yellow card to go with it for Jishnu.
78' Naorem overhits his pass to Gurjinder as the ball rolls out for a goal-kick.
76' Ashutosh jumps over Yusa and CCFC gets a free-kick on the left side. Nope. Free-kick the other way for Bagan...
Bagan SUB: Subha Ghosh comes on for Suhair
74' CCFC comfortable in possession.. Just as I type that, a mistake at the back from CCFC with Naorem getting in on the left side for a cut-back which is cut out in the nick of time.
70' Sriram does well on the right side but he can't direct his cut back into the box. Nervy moments for Bagan.
67' What a goal from CCFC! Jockson with a brilliant run down the left side by getting the better of Gonzalez. He then plays in a ball across the face of the goal which Yusa slams into an open net! It's 1-1 in Kalyani.
Yusa's free-kick from the edge of the box on the left side is cleared by Beitia.
63' Another well-worked move from CCFC ends in a free-kick for the side but replays shows Vijay lost his footing and not fouled.
62' What a chance for Fito to equalise! Ajith check in on his right foot and crosses into the box as the Bagan defence is caught at the back. The ball falls to Fito and the Spaniard's over the head effort goes wide of the far post.
61' Naorem is played in on the left by Suhair. And the winger's left-footed shot is saved by Santana.
Bagan SUB: Britto PM comes on for Shilton.
59' Another good move from the left for CCFC with Ajith Kumar plays the ball in for Yusa. His shot from the edge of the box flies narrowly wide of the far post.
57' Vijay looks to dart his way into Bagan box but Ashutosh cuts off his run before receiving a free-kick.
55' Sriram is put under pressure near the touchline and he ends up conceding a throw in.
53' Suhair does well inside the box to square the ball across the face of the six-yard box but there are no Bagan players to capitalise on it.
52' Naorem is played in on the left flank but CCFC defender tracks back to get the ball behind for a corner.
50' Good build-up from Chennai with Jishnu into the box but Roy catches the cross.
46' CCFC kicks off the second half. Mirza is taken off for Jishnu Balakrishnan.
FIRST HALF
CCFC can't muster a response in added time and the referee blows for the half-time whistle. Chennai was the dominant side with its free-flowing football but Bagan always looked threatening on the break and right at the stroke of half-time, Diawars struck for the table-topper. We will be back for the second half in 15 minutes.
Two minutes of added time.
45' GOAL! A sucker punch from Bagan and it takes another step closer to the title! A long ball from the back is missed by Rohit and Diawara runs onto before squaring Diawara in space. The striker composes himself before slotting it into the bottom corner of the net.
43' Rohit does well with a crunching tackle to take the ball off Naorem's feet.
Bagan ups its intensity towards the end of the half looking to press CCFC high up its own half. Some nervous mistakes from CCFC but ultimately doesn't end up hurting it.
41' Penalty appeals turned down for Bagan. Naorem does well to run with the ball into the CCFC half. Beitia then chips the ball over the top for Diawara, who seems to be brought down inside the box by Mashoor with a tug of his arm.
39' Fito pounces on a loose ball inside the box, cuts in to the left and fires a shot which narrowly misses the near post corner.
Sahil with a raised foot on Ajith which sees the former coming off worst somehow. The Bagan midfielder receives attention from the medics. He appears winded.
36' Good build up again from CCFC which results in a cross from Rohit into the Bagan box which is cleared away.
CCFC change: Charles comes in place of Pravitto
33' Beitia wins a corner and his inswinging delivery was close to being turned in before being cleared away.
32' Beitia's free-kick is off the cross bar! The rebound is cleared away from the box. Best chance of the evening for Bagan.
30' Diawara uses good upper body strength to shake off his marker before making a run towards goal. Before he could play in his teammate, Rohit cleans him up from behind. A free-kick outside Chennai's box.
Bagan living dangerously inside its box.
28' Yusa with a sensational run from the left into the box as he dances his way past defenders. He squares the ball for his one of his teammates to get on the end of it but Vijay's shot doesn't find the bottom of the net.
26' Good build up from Chennai which starts from the left into the middle with Vijay finding Jockson. Jockson's right-footed shot is off target.
25' Brilliant from Fito to cut in past 2-3 defenders but his pass to find Yusa inside the box is cut out.
24' Beitia misses his mark as his free-kick flies over the bar.
22' Diawara shows great strength to hold off Eslava before trying to play in Naorem on the right. Rohit tracks back to cut off the ball but the referee blows for a foul after Eslava brings Diawara down.
Ajith Kumar is receiving some treatment but he is back on his feet.
19' Diawara squanders a great opportunity. Santana has to rush off the line for a clearance and Suhair intercepts the pass and plays in Diawara with only a defender and 'Keeper to beat. He looks to curl the ball into the top right corner but ends up skying his effort.
18' Gurjinder looks to find Suhair on the right with a chipped pass but Ajith Kumar cuts it off.
16' Diawara and Ashutosh try to barge their way into the box but CCFC defenders remain strong and win the ball back.
14' Off the bar! Yusa again from the left plays in Jockson. Jockson's long-range effort beats Roy's reach but luckily for him it comes back into play off the bar.
Yusa dropping deep in his own box to help build up play for Chennai. The Japanese covers a lot of ground by drifting in deep before moving to the left.
Three successive corner kicks for CCFC but it fails to trouble Bagan's defence with them.
11' What a chance and what a save! Yusa cuts in from the left and plays in Vijay, who backheels it into the path of Fito in space. The Spaniard's shot is kept away by Roy with a diving effort. Superb build up from Chennai.
10' Mashoor clatters into Ashutosh from behind and this time the ref blows the whistle. Beitia's free-kick fails to beat Yusa in the box.
8' Yusa with a ball over the top for Jockson to run on to but he fails to get his shot away after being through on goal. Good work from Mashoor to win the ball back from Diawara at the back.
5' Chennai City seeing more of the ball with Sriram stringing together a few one-twos in the middle of the park.
3' Another foul on Beitia, this time from Yusa, who flatters into his opponent from behind.
3' Beitia with a free-kick from the right side but the headed knock-on has no takers inside the box.
1' The referee blows the whistle for kick-off. Bagan in an all-white kit will play from right to left.
4.58 pm: Bagan's Kibu Vicuna is voted the coach of the month, while Beitia is voted the player of the month.
4.47 pm: Vicuna remains wary of Chennai City's combination play. He says, "They want to control the game, most of the game they want to hold on to possession. So it's going to be demanding as the first game against them."
4.44 pm: The last time these two sides met, Bagan took a 3-0 lead before the 50th minute in the away fixture. Chennai fought back with two goals but couldn't find that crucial equaliser. Here's how it panned out.
4.40 pm: "Mohun Bagan will like to quickly wrap up the tile but we wish to be the spoilers today," says CCFC coach Akbar Nawas with a dead-pan face.
Match line-ups
Mohun Bagan XI: Sankar Roy; Ashutosh Mehta, Fran Gonzalez, Fran Morante, Gurjinder; SK Sahil; Suhair VP, Shilton Dsilva, Joseba Beitia, Nongdomba Naorem; Babacar Diawara
Chennai City XI: Nauzet Santana, Rohit Mirza, Mashoor Shereef Thangalakath, Roberto Eslava, Ajith Kumar; Jockson Dhas, Pradison Mariyadasan, Sriram, Pravitto Raju, Vijay; Katsumi Yusa; Fito
Match preview:
Mohun Bagan practically needs two more wins to secure its second I-League crown. Head coach Kibu Vicuna said his team will thus be focusing for another successful outing when it meets the defending champion Chennai City FC in a 15th-round fixture at the Kalyani Stadium on Thursday.
“We will try to focus on what we can do best and that is winning the match. It is going to be a difficult game as Chennai City is a very good team that plays possession-based football. I hope we get the result we are looking for,” Vicuna said on the eve of the match.
Bagan's Spanish coach spoke with a sense of caution looking back at the narrow 3-2 win his team managed in the first leg in Coimbatore, where Chennai City almost erased a 0-3 deficit pulling back two goals after the break.
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Mohun Bagan, which has just lost once so far, is currently on a 12-match unbeaten run and enjoys a sizeable lead with 35 points from 14 matches. Its nearest challenger Punjab FC is trailing by 12 points and with only six rounds to go, Bagan has all the scope to pick up the required points for the championship.
“I think we are performing well. Also, some days were lucky but in general our progress has been quite good. We have six more matches and 18 points to play for. Hope we keep our focus and pick up the required points,” Vicuna said.
For Akbar Nawas, Chennai City’s title winning coach, the scene in Mohun Bagan is currently similar to what it was with his team last year.
“Mohun Bagan this season is doing a lot similar to what we did last year. The sense of camaraderie and the spirit of the current Mohun Bagan team is lot similar to what was ours last year,” Nawas said.
'“Once you have that winning momentum, the spirit of a team goes to a different level. Hope we are able to break that momentum become the spoiler by beating the leader,” Nawas said about his team’s target.
Match details
Mohun Bagan vs Chennai City FC is scheduled for a 5 pm kick-off and will be broadcast LIVE on 1Sports and the 1Sports Facebook Page. Online streaming is also available on the Fancode app and website.
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