For Previews and Predictions of Round-5 click here
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EAST BENGAL
v
SALGAOCAR
Yuvabharati Krirangan, Kolkata
Dec 22nd, 1:45 PM IST
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EAST BENGAL 1–0 SALGAOCAR [Full Time]
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Team Line-ups:
East Bengal: Sandip Nandy; Naoba Singh, Uga Okpara, Sunil Kumar, Saumik Dey; Sushanth Matthew, Mehtab Hossain, Penn Orji, Sanju Pradha; Robin Singh, Tolgay Ozbey
Salgaocar: Karanjit Singh; Jaspal Parmar, Irungam Meetei, Syed Farid, Luciano Sabrosa; Rocus Lamare,Gilbert Olivera, Tomba Singh, Anthony Barbosa; Ryuji Sueoka, Yusif Yakubu
1′: The eagerly anticipated top of the table encounter is about to begin. Both the teams are ready for the kick-off and here we go – the match is ON !
5′: East Bengal is looking for an early lead. The beautiful passing game is a treat to the eyes. Mehtab tried to feed Tolgay, but Salgaocar defense intercepts and the ball is cleared.
7′: No goals yet, but the East Bengal attacking line is looking dangerous with every move amidst continuous cheering of around 30,000 strong crowd.
9′: Excellent one touch passing football by Penn and Tolgay here. They played a nice sequence of passes between themselves before Tolgay tried to test the Salgaocar goalkeeper from a distance, who gathers the ball comfortably.
14′: Mehtab is the best player on the pitch so far. He is dominating the midfield battle against his Salgaocar counterparts and looking for that defense splitting pass which could break the dead lock. Salgaocar is defending resolutely till now.
17′: It’s still goalless at Yuvabharati Krirangan, Salt Lake. Salgaocar is trying to slow down the tempo of the game. The artificial turf is causing few problems for the Goan side.
19′: East Bengal is attacking in numbers here. Anyone remember the Amal Dutta “Dimond System”? Morgan is employing similar tactics with this East Bengal squad. Mehtab is playing the “bottom of the diamond” deep-playmaker role, while Penn has been given the “top of the diamond” roaming role. Overlapping runs from the Red & Gold full backs already causing problems for this Salgaocar defense.
21′: Here comes the first Salgaocar attack, Okpara easily deals with it. East Bengal is the only team in this edition not to concede any goals so far.
25′: No goals yet. The match seems to have settled down a bit after the initial storm created by the Red & Gold outfit.
27′: Both the goalkeepers has not really been tested so far. While Karanjit made one easy collection, Sandip Nandy is yet to touch the ball and we are close to the half hour mark.
28′: Sueoka !!! That was a good header. Nicely saved by Sandip. That was the first real opportunity for Salgaocar till now.
30′: Just 15 minutes remaining for the half time whistle. It’s still goalless here at Yuvabharati.
34′: Two back to back attacks by Salgaocar. Okpara was rock solid and Sandip made an easy save on the second occasion.
35′: Tolgay was fouled inside the box. Referee waved play on. The crowd is furious with this decision. Tolgay lying injured, but it should not be serious, may be slight niggle.
36′: ROBIN SINGH !!! Golden opportunity lost as Sanju Pradhan provided an inch perfect cross for an unmarked Robin, but his volley went out wide.
39′: Still goalless. Salgaocar defense dealing well with the waves of Red & Gold attack and occasionally venturing out for a counter attack.
41′: TOLGAYYY !!! That went agonizingly wide. Tolgay unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the Salgaocar box which went inches over the wood-work.
43′: THAT WAS A SITTER !!! Couple of minutes later, Tolgay misses an open net. That was the easiest opportunity of the match so far but the high-profile Australian could not make it count. Will East Bengal rue these missed opportunities.
45′: Two minutes of added minutes waved by the assistant referee. It’s still goalless even tough East Bengal’s dominance was clearly evident.
46′: Yakubu came close from a Sueoka cross. But his effort went wide of the far post. Salgaocar looking to get a goal here in the last few seconds before the lemon break.
HT: East Bengal 0-0 Salgaocar SC :: The entertaining match failed to produce any goal in the first half. East Bengal dominated the proceedings and they should have taken a 2-0 lead – but Tolgay and Robin failed to convert two relatively easier chances. Salgaocar is mainly relying on quick counters, but their defense has played pretty well so far.
46′: The second half is about to get kicked-off. Both the teams are ready and waiting for the whistle. It’s going to be a cracker of a second half for sure.
48′: Battle is restricted to midfield at the start of the second half. Both teams looking to keep the ball possession. Which team will lead the league standings by the end of the match? Any predictions?
49′: East Bengal with the first attack after the break. Robin Singh takes a sudden shot from a Mehtab pass. Karanjit makes a diving save.
50′: The score-line remains 0-0. East Bengal started the second half in exactly the same fashion they did in the first half. Attack-attack-attack seems to be the Morgan policy.
52′: Karim Bencharifa seems to be happy by parking the bus in front of the goal. They are defending with 10 men, with only Yakubu in the final third waiting to cash on any rare counter attacks.
53′: East Bengal gets a corner. Mehtab took the flag kick which resulted in another corner. Salgaocar cleared the ball finally. Meanwhile Gilbert Olivera fouls Penn Orji and the referee makes the first booking of the match.
56′: The pattern remains the same. East Bengal is continuously attacking but somehow Salgaocar has managed to hold off the potent Red & Gold strike force.
59′: GOOAAALLLL !!! The dead-lock is broken. East Bengal scores. Tolgay makes amends for his earlier mistake. The Red & Gold goes one up and the noisy Kolkata crowd roars in joy !!! Mehtab with the assist and Tolgay’s screamer finds the back of the net. Karanjit had no chance to stop that bullet.
61′: It could easily have been 2-0 in favor of East Bengal, but Robin disappoints again. His shot goes over the cross piece.
65′: East Bengal discard Ekene Ikenwa is warming up. He must be waiting for an opportunity to prove East Bengal coach a point. Can he bring life back into the match?
70′: East Bengal is leading by a goal here. Only 20 minutes left for Karim Bencharifa’s boys to stage a come back, if they can !
72′: East Bengal continues to attack, especially from both the wings. Soumik-Naoba and Sanju-Sushanth all are having a good match here.
74′: First change made by Salgaocar and it’s not Ekene. Francis Fernandes comes in and Gilbert Olivera makes way for him.
77′: East Bengal attacking dominance continues. This time Tolgay sent a nice pass for Sanju, Sanju’s right footer went wide of the far post.
80′: Only 10 minutes remain between East Bengal and the I-League pole position. Can the Kolkata giants preserve their lead?
81′: Ekene finally introduced. Can the former East Bengal attacking pair, Yakubu-Ekene, make any diffrence to their team’s fortune? Time is running out fast for Karim’s men.
85′: We are into the last five minutes. East Bengal leading by 1-0 and dominating the possession. First change by Morgan. Soumik makes way for Ravinder Singh.
87′: ROBIN SINGH !!! Makes a mess of it. Tolgay did all the hard work and provided his striker with a golden opportunity. But the promising young striker disappoints once again.
90′: We are in to the last minute of scheduled time. 3 minutes of injury time remains to be played here.
91′: Budhiram Tudu came in place of Tolgay and misses an easy chance with his first touch of the match.
FT: EAST BENGAL 1-0 SALGAOCAR SC :: East Bengal is back on top of the I-League standing and quite deservedly so. They dominated the entire match against a star-studded Salgaocar side to earn a solitary goal win. The score-line could have been 3-0/4-0 if Robin and Tolgay could have finished off the simple tap-ins. Mehtab Hussain is TheHardTackle’s man of the match today for his brilliant display.
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AIFF XI
v
AIR INDIA
Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Gurgaon
Dec 22nd, 2:30 PM IST
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AIFF XI 2–1 AIR INDIA [Full Time]
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10′: The match begins at the Tau Devi Lal stadium, Gurgaon. No clear cut goal scoring opportunities yet.
20′: The scoreline reads AIFF XI 0-0 AIR INDIA. 20 minutes have gone past.
30′: Half an hour passed by, still no goals.
HT: AIFF XI leading by 1-0 at the half time. Shilton scored the goal in the 34th minute of the match. Will it prove to be sufficient to earn the young lads their first win? Or will the Airmen stage a come back? Join us again for the second half proceedings.
67′: AIFF XI is still holding onto the precious lead.
73′ : GOOOAAALLL!!! AIFF XI extend their lead. Now they are up 2-0. Jagatar Singh the scorer. Surely this is the winning goal.
84′ : The boys are slowly moving towards an invaluable win in I-League. Air India is trying to attack but the young defenders are blocking the Airmen bravely.
91′ : GOOOAAALLL!!! Air India pull one back ! Samson Singh scores. Is there a sting in the tail for this game? Can AI get one more ?
FULL TIME : AIFF XI 2-1 AIR INDIA : AIFF boys played a wonderful game and won deservedly. This win will give a much needed confidence boost to the young team. Pressure eases on Desmond Bulpin but pressure mounts on AI coach Yusuf Ansari. Air India is moving dangerously close to relegation zone.
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DEMPO SC
v
MUMBAI FC
Fatorda Stadium, Margaon
Dec 22nd, 3:45 PM IST
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Dempo SC 1-0 Mumbai FC [Full Time]
Team Line-ups:
Dempo: Kattimani, Debabrata, John,Peixoto, Peter, Kalu, Beto, Nicola, Dominic, Cliffton, Ranty
Mumbai FC: Anas, Nicolas, Noel, Henry, Nishant, Bungo, Nidhin, Theophlius, Keegan, Nihal, Kutty Mani
5′: Dempo begins the match on an attacking note.
15′: It’s goal-less after 15 minutes. The home team are dominating possession but havent found the back of the net yet.
25′ : It’s goal-less in Goa. Beto is trying his best to create something for Ranty but Mumbai FC is holding on to the clean-sheet.
40′ : Dempo is still unable to break the deadlock. Armando Colasco will not be pleased with the show from defending champions. Dempo cannot afford to drop more points today.
HT’: DEMPO 0-0 MUMBAI FC :: Dempo have so far failed to break a dogged MFC defence.
50′: Dempo started the second half in attacking fashion. Three consecutive corners for the defending champions. But no goals yet in the match.
58′: GOOOAAALLLL !!! Sensational free-kick by Beto. Dempo scores !!!
70′: Dempo still leading by one goal. 20 minutes remaining before the final whistle.
85′: Only five minutes of regulation time remaining. Dempo holding on to their lead.
90′: Only six minutes of injury time to go. Dempo laeding by a goal here.
FT: It’s all over for Mumbai FC. Dempo wins the match – thanks to a spectacular goal by Roberto Mendes da Silva – BETO. TheHardTackle’s man of the match award goes to Dempo’s goal scoring Brazilian playmaker.
JCT FC
v
MOHUN BAGAN
Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana
Dec 23rd, 3:00 PM IST
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JCT FC 0-1 Mohun Bagan [Full Time]
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5′: Another crucial match kicks off at Ludhiana. After a struggling start to the season, both the teams will be looking for their first elusive win from this match.10′: Subhash Bhowmick fields an 4-4-1-1 formation with Barreto playing just behind Muritala. Jayanta and Manish are the central midfielder with Gouranga and Snehashish on the wings. Shilton Pal again gets the nod ahead of more experienced Sangram Mukherjee. Rahul and Azim are the central defenders; Nizamuddin and Dhanarajan playing as full backs.-N
20′: No goals yet in the match. Bagan is trying to break the JCT defense from the wings. Snehashish and Gouranga both are playing well.
25′: Manish Mathani seems to have a slight injury. He is limping in the midfield. Subhash may have to make one early change here.
30′: JCT is seeing a lot of ball possession off late. But Bagan defense is playing well. Sheikh Azim, who was like a fringe player in Stanley era, has been a revelation since Subhash Bhowmick has taken over.y
40′: Barreto !!! His header from a close range went wide. Mohun Bagan has got 3 corners in the last 10 minutes, but the delivery has been poor.
HT: It’s a goal-less first half at Ludhiana. Both the teams have played some entertaining football, but unable to break the dead-lock. Join us back to know how the second half unfolds.
50′: The second half play resumes. It promises to be an entertaining one.
55′: Both the teams are unable to create any decent chances. Match is restricted to midfield battle at the moment. Subhash and Sukhi may just look to their substitute’s bench to do the trick for their respective teams.
60′: JCT makes a nice attack. Keke Ibrahim and Saran Singh gave some nervous moments to the Bagan defenders. Somehow Azim clears the danger. But they need to tighten their defense, JCT is looking dangerous while attacking.
65′: Shilton makes a good save to keep his side in the game. JCT is attacking more and more using the width of the pitch. Dhanarajan, playing at the left back, is having a torrid time dealing with JCT’ winger Amandeep Singh.
70′: GOOAAALLL !!! Mohun Bagan scores. Manish Mathani is the scorer for Bagan.
80′: Ten minutes remaining for Sukhwinder Singh’s boys to snatch a point off the Kolkata giants. JCT is attacking in numbers now.
85′: JCT is going into all out attacking mode to get the equalizer. 5 minutes remain for the final whistle.
90′: Bagan is maintaining their one goal lead. We are into the injury time. 3 minutes added.
FT: Final Score : JCT 0–1 Mohun Bagan :: Mohun Bagan wins the match. Their first win of the campaign. Subhash Bhowmick magic seems to be working for the Green & Maroons.
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ONGC FC
v
PUNE FC
Shahanu Stadium, Kohlapur
Dec 23rd 3:30 PM
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ONGC FC 1-1 PUNE FC [FT]
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5′: The match begins at Shahanu Stadium, Kohlapur. The new home for the Mumbai clubs while Cooperage gets renovated.15′: It’s still goal-less.
25′: No goals yet. Pune FC enjoying slightly better possession.
32′ : GOOOAAALLL!!! It’s ONGC who take the lead !
44′: ONGC’s defence has played pretty well in I-League so far. PFC need to do something special to break their opponents down.
HT : ONGC 1-0 PUNE FC :: PFC Coach Derek Perreira had identified ND Opara as a dangerman before the match. It was indeed Opara who scored the goal for ONGC to out them in a commanding position. PFC continue to concede goals first. Can they stage another comeback in 2nd half?
56′: Pune FC pushing for an equaliser while ONGC is looking to exploit gaps in PFC defence through counters. Its still 1-0.
62′ : An hour is gone. ONGC still lead from Opara’s strike.
70′ : Tapan Maiti, who joined ONGC from Air India, has been a rock at the back for his team.
80′ : ONGC defence backed by former India NT ‘keeper Rajat Ghosh Dastidar is efficiently keeping out Izumi and Co. Missing Brazilian Edmar seems to have badly affected PFC attack.
89′: GOOOAAALLL!!! PFC score another late equaliser. They truely are the comeback kings !
FT ONGC 1-1 PUNE FC :: PFC once again show brilliant fighting spirit to claw their way back into the match. Despite trailing they never gave up and scored a late equaliser through Keita. PFC’s club crest has an connection with the great Shivaji, the players today showed the kind of fighting spirit for which the Maratha king was famous for.
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CHURCHILL BROTHERS
v
VIVA KERALA
Nehru Stadium, Margaon
Dec 23rd 3:45 PM
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Churchill 1-1 Viva Kerala [FT]
5′: The match is underway at the Fatorda Stadium, Margaon.
20′ : GOOOAAALLL!!! Surprise, surprise, its the team from Kerala who take the lead !
25′: Churchill are really pushing up for an equaliser now. Can Viva keep out Odafa Okalie ?
38′: Odafa comes close to scoring. Viva are hanging for their dear lives here..
HT : CHURCHILL BROTHERS 0-1 VIVA KERALA :: Very few would have predicted the scoreline going into lemon break. Viva, who lost 2-0 in this fixture last season, lead 0-1. Felix who has been under-fire for his recent performances scored the only goal of the match
47′ : Second Half kicks off, Viva defenders will have to play the match of their lives to hang onto a famous win.
56′ : Viva defence is putting up an extremely impressive defensive display. Score is still 1-0.
60′ : Can Viva hang on to this lead for 30 more minutes ?
70′ : 20 minutes to go. The men from Kerala are putting up a staunch resistance against Odafa.
FT: CHURCHILL BROTHERS 1-1 VIVA KERALA :: Late drama ! Unheralded Viva players almost stopped the highest paid striker in Indian football, Odafa. A minute before the regulation time ended Churchill Brothers got a penalty as a Viva defender was sent off. Odafa made no mistake, denying Viva a memorable win. With that match we wrap up this round of matches for I-League. Do visit us back for our weekly review.
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CHIRAG UNITED
v
HAL
Yuvabharati Krirangan, Kolkata
Dec 23rd, 2:00 PM IST
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Chirag United 1-0 HAL SC [Full Time]
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5′: Chirag with a full strength side faces newly promoted HAL FC, who are without their play-maker Xavier Vijaykumar and foreign striker Abdulla Hazma. Vijay is suspended while Hazma is injured. Chirag captain Arnab Mondal is back in the first 11 after recovering from injury. Jerry and Lalkamar are marshalling the central midfield for the kolkata team and “Jo-Jo” combination upfront.10′: The score-line remains 0-0 after 10 minutes.
20′: It’s still goalless at Kolkata. Chirag desparately needs to win this match to stay close to the league leaders.
35′: Chirag is trying hard to break the dead-lock, but the HAL defense is playing admirably. No goals scored yet.
HT: GOOOAAALLLL !!! Just like the previous matches, Chirag scores at the brink of the half time. Jerry scored for the Kolkata side; Lalkamal provided the assist. The score-line at Half Time reads – Chirag 1-0 HAL.
50′: Joshimar puts the ball into the back of the net, but the linesman has his flag up. Offside decision went against Chirag, they are leading by 1-0.
60′: Chirag is leading by one goal – thanks to a fabulous strike by Jerry Zirsanga. They are applying more pressure on HAL defense to secure a two goal cushion.
70′: The score-line remains unchanged. 20 minutes remaining.
80′: 10 minutes remaining for HAL to salvage one point. Can they snatch a point off the Kolkata side from their own backyard against the run of play? Well, the next 10 minutes will answer the question. Meanwhile Joshimar misses an easy chance to double the lead.
FT: Final Score – Chirag 1-0 HAL. Chirag United collects all three points from this home tie. Lalkamal Bhowmick, who played a brilliant role to control the midfield battle is TheHardTackle’s man of the match.
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