Mohun Bagan ensured that they went into next week’s title decider at Aizawl on top of the league as the Green-and-Maroons dug out a 1-0 win at the home of Minerva Punjab on Saturday.
With Aizawl having gained a 3-1 win over Churchill Brothers earlier on in the day, Bagan had to win to keep the pressure up on the highlanders as Sanjoy Sen made two changes, as Jeje Lalpekhlua came in for Balwant Singh while Pintu Mahato replaced derby hero Azharuddin Mallick.
Mohun Bagan had a freekick in the 20th minute which Eduardo Ferreira headed towards goal to force keeper Arshdeep Singh into taking evasive action.
In the 36th minute, Kareem Nurain almost scored an own goal after his block off Jeje forced Arshdeep into parrying it off the crossbar. Five minutes into the second half, Pritam Kotal found himself in space outside the box but his shot went just over.
The game saw a prolonged break of about 15 minutes following malfunctioning of the flood lights. It seemed the break broke Bagan’s momentum as Simranjeet Singh was found on the edge of the box and his placed shot had beaten Debjit but unfortunately struck the post and went out.
In the 62nd minute, Sony Norde dribbled past a couple of players but saw his shot saved for a corner.
Katsumi Yusa found plenty of space down the right and his cross was tipped out by the goalkeeper before Moinuddin made a fantastic goal line clearance. Ten minutes before time, Duffy was left unmarked in the box but he powered his header wide off a Norde corner.
Norde turned Bagan’s saviour when he ran past the advance defensive line and slotted the ball expertly past an onrushing Arshdeep to score Bagan’s opening goal.
Bagan now have 33 points from 16 games, same as Aizawl FC but are on top due to their head-to-head record.
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