Match facts
AFC Cup Playoff (second leg)
Mohun Bagan v Club Valencia (aggregate score 1-1)
Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, Kolkata, 4 pm onwards
The big picture
Mohun Bagan will carry a vital away goal into their second leg of the AFC Cup playoff against Club Valencia of Maldives. However, they need to try and put the match out of the visitors' reach early in the piece against an opposition that showed in Male that they were prepared to fight on an even keel against the Indian Federation Cup champions.
Sanjoy Sen had chosen to travel to Maldives without a number of his key players, and senior striker Darryl Duffy more than justified his selection with an early goal that put Bagan in front. They would go on to concede a late penalty, that was comfortably converted by Nigerian striker Godfrey Omudu, and now leaves the tie in the balance leading into the Kolkata leg of the match.
In the spotlight
Influential Bagan winger Sony Norde has had some problems with a recurring knee injury, and in fact only took the field against DSK Shivajians in their last I-League match on February 18, after a clearance from sports doctor Dr. Anant Joshi. The last few days of rest might not be sufficient, especially bearing in mind the important I-League matches coming up in a season where Bagan are genuine title contenders a little over midway through the season.
This could place greater onus on foreign players Duffy and Japanese midfielder Katsumi Yusa. Katsumi has been a bit subdued in recent domestic matches, with Sen being forced to play him in more central roles to accommodate the likes of Prabir Das along the flanks.
What will also be of interest is how Valencia approach this match -- where they will definitely need to score to keep the tie alive. One might expect a cautious start, and the Maldives club to put greater pressure as the match progresses.
Stats and trivia
• Including their nine I-League matches, Bagan are currently unbeaten across 12 matches for the year 2017. The 1-1 draw in Male was just the fourth in these matches.
• Both teams are looking to reach the main draw of the AFC Cup for the fourth time in history. While Mohun Bagan's best effort remains their round-of-16 finish last year, Valencia have never progressed beyond the group stages, their last appearance in the continental competition having come in 2009.
• The team that wins the tie on aggregate score (and penalties, if required) will slot into Group E of the main draw of the AFC Cup for 2017, where the other teams will be Dhaka Abahani (Bangladesh), Maziya (Maldives) and 2016 runners-up and reigning I-League champions Bengaluru FC. The qualifier will open their account away to Bengaluru on March 14 in the league stages.