Barreto helps Mohun Bagan beat ITI
Brazilian import Jose Ramirez Barreto struck in the 43rd minute as defending champions Mohun
Bagan defeated Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 in a seventh National Football League match in Bangalore on Friday.
The Kolkata outfit, without the services of the mercurial Baichung Bhutia, who is out of action for six weeks due to a calf muscle tear, held on to their lead as the telephonemen staged a spirited fightback.
Mohun Bagan now have 12 points from seven outings.
The local side, who are yet to score a victory, are
placed at the bottom of the table with just two points from
seven matches.
The encounter at the Bangalore Football Stadium was
high-pitched from the word go as both sides went whole gog but
it was a saga of missed opportunities for Mohun Bagan and ITI
barring Barreto's effort just before half-time.
In fact, Mohun Bagan had a chance to forge ahead in the
21st minute itself but Sunil Chettri missed a relatively easy
opportunity to score with no opposition to thwart his
attempt. But he was off target.
ITI's Seth Osai made a superb effort in the 28th minute
but his powerful hit was well collected by goalkeeper Bivash
Ghosh who did a fine job under the bar.
Mohun Bagan's Amar Ganguly, Ajoy Singh and ITI's Firoz
were shown yellow cards.
Complete Coverage: 7th National Football League 2002-03