Editorial Football Football Indian football ISL 2024-25

Alaeddine’s lamp dimmed by courageous Mohun Bagan

September 23, 2024
Rohan Chowdhury
Subhasish Bose scoring his goal against NEUFC (Image: MBSG)

A five-goal thriller at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Salt Lake, saw Mohun Bagan Super Giant emerge victorious and be the first Kolkata club to win a match in this year’s Indian Super League (ISL). The Mariners won the encounter 3-2 against NorthEast United FC. It was a revenge match of sorts for Jose Molina and his boys, a repeat of the Durand Cup 2024 final, where the Highlanders lifted the trophy after a tiebreaker.

It was one of those matches a neutral spectator would love to watch. An action-packed 90 minutes saw some brilliant counterattacks, a controversial goal, a world-class late winner, a team coming from behind to win, and much more.

NorthEast’s Alaeddine Ajaraie and Jithin MS paired up from both the wings and gave Mohun Bagan’s defenders a tough time. Ajaraie, the Moroccan attacker, scored the winner against Mohammedan SC in Kolkata. In the post-match media interaction, he had said he wanted to score against Mohun Bagan again, as he had in the Durand Cup final.

Special mention to the Kerala boy, Jithin, who has been consistent for NEUFC this season, starting from the Durand Cup and into the ISL. His ball control and attacking abilities made him the coach’s favourite during his time with Gokulam Kerala, where he was instrumental in their I-League winning campaign.

Out of the five goals in the game, NorthEast’s second goal seemed the most picturesque, with Jithin receiving the ball in their half from a Mohun Bagan freekick and starting his run. He passed the ball across the field to Ajaraie running down the left flank, who in turn made a forward diagonal pass back to Jithin. He made no mistake with a clinical cross-field ball which was met with a pinpoint left-footed finish by the Moroccan forward. It was a perfect example of a textbook counterattack.

 

Both the teams showed intent from the very beginning of the game. It was not even two minutes when Ajaraie hit the far post after build-up play by Jithin – the first glimpse of this duo in the match. NorthEast didn’t have to wait long to open their account, as another Moroccan, defender Mohammed Ali Bemammer, scored a screamer from 25 yards, leaving no chance for Vishal Kaith to react in the Bagan goal. It was Ajaraie who set it up for Bemammer from the left flank.

The lead was short-lived. Mohun Bagan’s young defender, Dibyendu Biswas, equalised with a perfect header from a Dimitri Petratos freekick. It was a lofted ball from Petratos and Biswas jumped above all to send into into the far corner beyond the reach of Gurmeet Singh, the NorthEast goalkeeper. The first half ended 2-1 in favour of The Highlanders.

Subhasish Bose, another Bagan defender, equalised after the one-hour mark, but there were several protests from the NorthEast players. Bose seemed to have kicked the ball from Gurmeet’s hand while he was struggling to collect it lying on the ground. There were appeals for a foul – Gurmeet was seen struggling with an injury from the collision, but the goal stood. Nevertheless, the NorthEast goalkeeper should have done better in collecting a straightforward Greg Stewart header. Perhaps it was the sudden heavy rain which made it difficult for him.

Overall, it was NorthEast who had the better ball possession throughout, and the Bagan defence and midfield were kept busy tracking the star duo of the Highlanders. It was the 79th minute when the NorthEast coach, Juan Benali, made three substitutions, including Jithin and Ajaraie. This move perhaps gave Molina’s team some extra space to push forward for the late winner.

Bagan’s number 10, Stewart, had the ball in the 30-yard area and he played it left to Sahal Abdul Samad, who crossed low into space in the penalty box. Jason Cummings, who played for Australia in a World Cup, supplied the clinical left-footed finish into the top left corner.

With this win, Molina would be a little relieved ahead of a series of important games. They face Bengaluru FC next in an away fixture on the 28th, followed by Tractor in the AFC Champions League Two, and back-to-back Kolkata derbies with Mohammedan SC and East Bengal. NorthEast United will play Kerala Blasters, recent victors over East Bengal, at home on September 29.