I-League - Round 13: All about the derby

The thirteenth Round of matches of the I-League 2010/11 were played on February 3, 5 & 6 across India. But it was all about one game, the Kolkata derby which ended in a one-all draw and a lot of controversy.


Round 13 Match by Match Short Review
03-Feb-2011: Air India 1-1 (0-1) Salgaocar SC (in Kolhapur)
Air India held high flying Salgaocar SC to a one-all draw in Kolhapur to deny the Goans the chance to join East Bengal at the top of the I-League on 30 points. It was an entertaining encounter which the Airmen should have won, but they wasted numerous chances in the first session before seasoned Yakubu Yusif gave Salgaocar the lead late into the first half injury time. Thereafter it was once more Air India in attack and their African recruit Okorogor Nnabuike Praise got them the equaliser in the 79th minute to at least keep one point.

03-Feb-2011: Viva Kerala 0-2 (0-0) Dempo SC (in Kannur)
I-league champions Dempo SC scored a 2-0 away win against lowly Viva Kerala in Kannur to move back into fourth position, while the Keralites remain 13rd and in the relegation zone. After a goalless first session in which Viva Kerala had the better chances it were the experienced foreigners who won it once more for Dempo. Brazilian midfielder Roberto Mendes Silva would open the scoring for Dempo's in the 70th minute through a brilliant freekick, while Nigerian Ranty Martins Soleye doubled the lead only seven minutes later.

05-Feb-2011: Pune FC 3-0 (0-0) Indian Arrows (in Pune)
Pune FC continued their move up the I-League table with a 3-0 win against the Indian Arrows in Pune. But the home side had to wait until the 63rd minute to go ahead as Izumi Arata headed the ball into the Arrows goal. And then Brazilian Edmar Figueira would score a brace in the 71st and 78th minute to win it for PFC as they moved to 14 points.

05-Feb-2011: Chirag United SC 3-5 (1-2) Churchill Brothers SC (in Kolkata)
Churchill Brothers SC won 5-3 in an eight goal thriller against Chirag United SC in Kolkata. In an entertaining game which showed glimpses of individual brilliance and terrible mistakes alike the Goans took an early 10th minute lead through a Kayne Vincent header of a Steven Benedic Dias freekick, but Chirag United would equalise in the 19th minute through Nigerian Elijah Obagbemiro Junior before Indian international Steven would give Churchill Brothers the lead again two minutes later. It stayed this way until the break and then Churchill Brothers would make it 3-1 through a Boima Karpeh rebound after the breather and it looked all over for the Kolkata side. But they would come back into the game, first a lovely chested finish from substitute Shylo Malswam Tulunga, then a penalty goal from Junior brought the game to 3-3 by the 65th minute and it looked anybody game at this time. But in the 70th minute Churchill's new Brazilian Amaury Gentil Nunes would score a gem of a long ranger and then Kayne Vincent would score his teams fifth and his second on the day to take the match away from the Kolkata side.

05-Feb-2011: Mumbai FC 1-1 (0-0) JCT (in Kolhapur)
Mumbai FC were held to a one-all draw by JCT in Kolhapur. After a goalless first session Mumbai FC took the lead through their African recruit Ebi Theophilus Sukore in the 57th minute. On the hour mark Indian international Abhishek Yadav could have doubled the lead, but it was not to be and JCT got the equaliser in the 83rd minute through a goal from Amandeep Singh after a defensive mistake.

06-Feb-2011: HAL, Bangalore 1-0 (0-0) ONGC (in Bangalore)
Bangalore'S HAL kept all the points in Bangalore with a 1-0 win against ONGC from Mumbai at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. The only goal of the match came from Maniipuri striker Maleng Meetei in the 70th minute.

06-Feb-2011: Mohun Bagan AC 1-1 (1-1) East Bengal Club (in Kolkata)
An in the second session often ill-tempered derby between Mohun Bagan AC and East Bengal Club ended in a one-all draw at the Saltlake Stadium. The match saw two goals, two red cards, 10 yellow cards, 10 minutes of injury time and close to 90.000 spectators. The old spectacles in Rome wouldn't have been more entertaining.
East Bengal took an early eighth minute lead through a Sanju Pradhan penalty after Surkumar Singh had handled the ball in the area. If one thought that the red-and-gold would now easily go through this game, then one would be surprised as Mohun Bagan fought back to equalise through a great strike from Jose Barreto just before the hour mark. In the second sessions things got ugly with referee Pratap Singh often taking too long to make decisions or not reacting at all, which allowed the players to get away with quite a lot. In the end Gurwinder Singh got his second yellow of a usual foul and then substitute Ashim Biswas stamped on Mehtab Hussain to get a straight red.
With this draw East Bengal end the first half of the I-League on top with 31 points from 13 matches, while Mohun Bagan are sixth with 19 points.


Click here for the 4th I-League 2010/11 - League Table & Fixtures .