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| Mohun Bagan bowed out of the AFC Cup 2016 after suffering a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Tampines Rovers at home, Picture Courtesy: www.the-afc.com |
AFC Cup 2016 - Round of 16
24.05.2016
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati
Mohun Bagan(India) 1-2 Tampines Rovers(Singapore) (AET)
MB: Bikramjit Singh(72nd)
TR: Jordan Webb(63rd), Afiq Yunos(117th)
Mohun Bagan lost a great opportunity to progress to the quarter finals of the AFC Cup 2016, after suffering a narrow defeat to Singapore's Tampines Rovers in the pre-quarter finals played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Tuesday, 24th May 2016. Without the services of their star foreigner duo - Katsumi Yusa and Sony Norde, Mohun Bagan's attack seemed weak. Even the defense looked vulnerable with Arnab Das Sharma placed under the sticks instead of Debjit Majumder.
Tampines Rovers were the better of the two teams in the first half but Mohun Bagan held their own in the defense. Cornell Glen's injury in the first half further added concern to Sanjoy Sen as he was forced to bring in Subhash Singh.
Though Mohun Bagan had very little to offer in the attacking front, they were given a major boost when Tampines Rovers went a man down after Shakhir Hamza was given his second yellow card in the 53rd minute. There after the tempo was controlled by The Mariners as they started piling the pressure against The Stags. Much against the run of play, the visitors went ahead when Jordan Webb's looping attempt from the right flank left Arnab in the dust as the Bagan goalie misjudged the flight. Headers from Raju Gaikwad and Dhanachandra tested the Tampines Rovers goalie but he dealt with them quite well. It was Bikramjit Singh who came to rescue for Bagan with a thumping strike from around 35 yards which rifled into the net in the 72nd minute. The game moved into extra-time as the scoreline remained 1-1 after 90 minutes.
The story continued in similar fashion with Mohun Bagan attacking in numbers but failing to find a clear attempt on goal. Subhash Singh in particular was lively but the Tampines Rovers defense were on their toes. Mohun Bagan having all three substitutions exhausted, were also reduced to ten men as Bikramjit Singh went off the field in the 112th minute with what looked like an hamstring injury. Shortly after Tampines Rovers found the winner as former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder Jermaine Pennant found Afiq Yunos from a free kick and Afiq's effort found the back of the net as a tired looking Mohun Bagan defense went to sleep.
With the victory Tampines Rovers go to the quarter finals while Federation Cup 2016 champions Mohun Bagan's season comes to a disappointing end.
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