Jose Ramirez Barreto is long past his prime but the club management strangely refuses to believe this. Today he was a liability on the pitch and was lucky to escape a booking. Subair Muritala Ali was a Rs 74-lakh flop who couldn’t score from two yards, while Okwy Okonkwo Diamondstar’s first touch and positional sense brought derisive laughter from the crowd.

The local brigade of Kinshuk Debnath, Asim Biswas and Jayanta Sen too didn’t inspire confidence. Ayran’s Snehashis Dutta gave Debnath a hernia, Biswas’s technique at times was ridiculous and Sen’s game didn’t have the authority expected from a central midfielder.

Coach Stanley Rozario must consider himself lucky to get the Bagan job after a poor last season with Lajong FC. The Shillong club had to face the relegation blues under him. His AFC ‘A’ licence landed him the Bagan job. On Saturday, he was outthought by his counterpart Raghu Nandy. Rozario didn’t give Edeh Chidi a start and kept Snehashish Chakraborty in the dugout till the 80th minute. Gauranga Dutta, along with Chakraborty, could have mobilised the flanks but he was not even considered.