Bengaluru FC face Mohun Bagan at home in a crucial home game on Saturday. BFC have never beaten Bagan at home in three seasons of the I-League. Can they break the jinx this time? Here is a recap of all the encounters between the two sides in three seasons.
Sept. 22, 2013: Bengaluru FC 1 Mohun Bagan 1
Mohun Bagan were Bengaluru FC's first opponents ever in the I-League, when Karim Bencherifa's team came visiting at the Bangalore Football Stadium in the season opener of the 2013-14 season.
Bagan were missing their talismanic Nigerian striker Odafa Onyeka Okolie, while Bengaluru coach Ashley Westwood started with his top Indian strikers Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh on the bench, leaving the strike responsibilities to Australian Sean Rooney.
It was a game that had everything, beginning with a penalty won by the visitors early in the match, but Katsumi Yusa's attempt from the spot was saved. For the hosts, there was a John Johnson header late in the first half that beat goalkeeper Sandip Nandy but hit the woodwork. Eventually, Bengaluru took the lead through Rooney, but only in the 50th minute, after Chhetri had been introduced into attack. Rooney could have put the game beyond Bagan, but his penalty was saved.
Mohun Bagan came away with a point thanks to CS Sabeeth's headed equaliser late in the game, one that saw Thoi Singh of Bengaluru sent off for a second yellow card in injury time.
May 31, 2015: Bengaluru FC 1 Mohun Bagan 1
Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan were both vying for the title for the 2014-15 season, and the hosts trailed Bagan by two points -- having recorded 10 wins and six draws to 11 and five for the corresponding numbers for the Kolkata team -- going into the final match of the season at the Kanteerava Stadium on a rain-soaked evening in Bengaluru.
Westwood sprung one surprise in the starting lineup, starting the pacy teenager Udanta Singh on the wings ahead of Sunil Chhetri to partner Sean Rooney and Robin Singh. Sanjoy Sen, in charge of Mohun Bagan in his first full season, started Cameroonian striker Pierre Boya alongside Balwant Singh.
The start was cagey, but as the game progressed, it was Bagan who showed greater purpose. However, Bengaluru drew first blood, with John Johnson heading the ball home past Shilton Paul off a corner by Eugeneson Lyngdoh. This goal meant Mohun Bagan had to now score to keep their title hopes alive.
In the second half, there was persistent attacking from the visitors, and Boya came close with a swerving shot that beat the entire defence, but missed the woodwork by inches. The centre-back combination of Johnson and Curtis Osano stood firm and Bagan supporters at the ground began leaving the ground with about five minutes of regulation time left.
Things took a wild turn in the 87th minute when a corner met Nigerian defender Bello Rasaq who rose above Johnson and Osano to find the corner of the net. 1-1 and Bengaluru were crushed.
Bagan held on and lifted their first national league in 13 years.
Feb. 13, 2016: Bengaluru FC 0 Mohun Bagan 2
Mohun Bagan were unbeaten for the 2015-16 I-League. Bengaluru FC had made a good start, but then lost matches away to Mumbai FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, and the biggest casualty of the former was Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who picked up a fracture that would rule him out for a couple of months.
Jeje Lalpekhlua and Cornell Glenn were in exceptional goal scoring form for Bagan, and for the first hour of the match, it was a match typified by compact midfield battles and the occasional foray into the opposition half. There were some rough challenges on both sides, and Bengaluru were dealt a blow when left-back Lalchhuanmawia was shown a second yellow card in the 61st minute.
Ashley Westwood resisted the temptation to make any substitutions, instead asking Irish midfielder Michael Collins to drop deep and help defenders Rino Anto, John Johnson and Curtis Osano. Bagan were quick to capitalise on the man advantage, using the width of the pitch to keep sending incisive balls for their strikers, and Jeje would pounce on one such chance in the 73rd minute.
Bengaluru pushed more players into attack, as Westwood brought on CK Vineeth and Seminlen Doungel to bolster the attack. The hosts were caught out by a bit of individual brilliance in injury time by Sony Norde. The Haitian picked up a ball in midfield, dribbled past a couple of defenders and then beat Amrinder Singh one-on-one to maintain Bagan's unbeaten record in Bengaluru in fine style.