EB do Bagan a favour

EB do Bagan a favour
Saibal Bose

New Delhi, FEB 23: Mohun Bagan occupy the top spot in the National Football League, courtesy East Bengal. It is one of those rare instances when a Calcutta team has a done a favour to one of its city rivals, although unwittingly.

East Bengal beat Churchill Brothers 2-1 in Calcutta and the next day, Mohun Bagan scraped past Dempo by a solitary goal. Tollygunge Aggragami chipped in with their bit, holding Salgaocar at Goa.

Another contender suffered a stunning setback, this time in Ludhiana. In the first match of the 16th round, bottom-placed Border Security Force upset Mahindras 2-0. Both goals were scored by Josaf, leaving the Mumbai team in fourth place.

Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills sneaked past Mahindras to the third spot after beating State Bank of Travancore at home. JCT now have 27 points, five less than leaders Bagan. Mahindras have 25 points with last year's winners Salgaocar trailing at 24. Coach Shabbir Ali will draw solace from the fact that they surged from behind to win the third edition of the National League. The fourth League is far from over and Salgaocar are in the race.

FC Kochin too are making some headway, climbing to the seventh spot after beating Indian Telephone Industries. Kochin missed IM Vijayan in the match and had to struggle. Although they have the odd victory to boost, on form it is difficult to visualise them climbing to the top. Of course, Kochin coach TK Chathunni can take pride that the couple of upsets caused by his team has changed the face of the League standings. The off-colour big guns in their side make them the most unpredictable package in the League.

State Bank of Travancore's progress has finally come to a halt. After a good performance, which saw them climb into the top six, SBT have slipped to the ninth spot with two straight defeats.

East Bengal have finally found their rhythm. They are tied with SBT on points but have scored more goals. The victory over Churchill Brothers at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta might have showed that they are coming out of the woods, but the road to the top is almost out of sight.

Standings

P W D L Gf Ga Pts

Mohun Bagan 16 9 5 2 22 13 32

Churchill 16 9 4 3 27 12 31

JCT 16 7 6 4 16 11 27

Mahindras 16 6 7 3 21 11 25

Salgaocar 15 6 6 3 12 7 24

FC Kochin 14 5 6 3 14 13 21

Tollugunge 16 5 6 5 14 17 21

East Bengal 16 5 5 6 16 17 20

SBT 16 6 2 8 11 17 20

ITI 16 2 6 8 11 19 12

Dempo 14 1 6 8 7 22 9

BSF 16 2 3 11 6 18 9