Mohun Bagan rode their luck, defending doggedly in the face of some spirited attacking play from hosts Shillong Lajong to hold them 1-1 and go top of the I-League table at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong on Wednesday.
Bagan took the lead in the 75th minute, with second-half substitute Jeje Lalpekhlua sneaking in between the centre-backs to chip the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Vishal Kaith. Three minutes later, Aser Dipanda scored from the penalty spot - the Bagan defence paying the price for an Eduardo Ferreira handball from a shot by Lajong substitute Fabio Pena - to bring up his 10th goal of the season.
Bagan moved level on points with Aizawl on 30 each, but are ahead on head-to-head, while Lajong are fourth with 24 points.
Bagan's starting woes continue
Mohun Bagan are known to be nervous starters, and on Wednesday, the imbalance in the starting eleven stuck out like a sore thumb, as Sanjoy Sen persisted with the team that beat East Bengal over the weekend
Without Subhasish Bose as the Under-22 player, he started again with Azharuddin Mallick, whose goal against East Bengal was one of the high points of the clash in Siliguri. However, with Katsumi Yusa forced to sit deep alongside Sehnaj Singh, it left the attacking line without enough support behind them in the middle of the park.
Bagan look best when Katsumi operates on the flanks, and in his endeavour to balance out the Under-22 player quota, Sen might be overcompensating in midfield, especially with a defensive line that is yet to show a settled look about it.
The best answer would be to revert to the lineup that beat Bengaluru 3-0 in Kolkata, where Mallick operated as the second striker alongside Darryl Duffy, and Katsumi played in his usual place on the right flank, chipping away at the full-backs with his pace and skill.
Bagan defence blows hot and cold
While right-back Pritam Kotal has done well for Sen all season, Anas Edathodika is growing into his role as a centre-back, though he has moments when his enthusiasm can get the better of him in one-on-one duels.
In Shillong, Anas was a key component of keeping Lajong at bay, especially after Debjit Majumder had set the tone for the visitors with a few fine collections and good saves in the early part of the first half.
Intercepting passes, putting in the tackles - Anas was doing it all, but his partner Eduardo looked off-colour. The penalty conceded was also down to a misjudgement from the Brazil-born defender, as he raised his arm in a reflex action to Fabio Pena's snapshot.
Left-back Raju Gaikwad is putting in an honest shift every time he plays, but his lack of pace was exposed a few times in Siliguri by Romeo Fernandes and Willis Plaza, and he looked like the weakest link that Lajong often exploited. Sen will need to set his defence in order, especially with an in-form attack that he has at his disposal.
Bagan's next three games include an AFC Cup match against Maziya of Maldives, sandwiched between huge I-League clashes away to Minerva Punjab and Aizawl FC. All of these teams have pace on the ball and will look to exploit any chinks in the Bagan defence.
Credit to Lajong
It must not be forgotten what Lajong are achieving this season, playing well under the shadow of the Kolkata giants and the fairytale run of Aizawl. If Lajong are playing better than they have in any recent I-League season, a lot of it has to do with forward planning that began more than two years back.
When coach Thangboi Singto was taking his team to the 2014-15 Federation Cup in Goa, the likes of goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, defenders Nim Dorjee Tamang and Pritam Singh, midfielder Redeem Tlang and striker Bipin Singh were some Lajong juniors who made up more than half the squad with an eye on the future.
Lajong lost all their matches in the group stages, including their clash with eventual Federation Cup champions Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan, but those four players played a vital role on Wednesday, providing pace, composure and self-assurance to one of the youngest teams in the league.
There were some sublime bits of play, with the two foreign players who started -- Cameroonian striker Dipanda and Japanese midfielder Yuta Kinowaki -- pulling their weight in adequately.
Lajong are a fearless, young team and wherever they finish this season, they would have made a strong statement in favour of investing in young Indian players and giving them the opportunity to blossom into good footballers.