New Delhi: Beginning with a 1-0 home defeat against the team considered to be the weakest in Mohun Bagan’s group could mean that a long and painful Asian Champions League 2 campaign is in store for Mohun Bagan.
That Ahal FK wouldn’t be pushovers was evident from kick-off itself, but losing to them 1-0 in their ACL 2 opener at home spells doom for Bagan even though it’s early days in the competition.
Against a sharper and fitter Turkmenistan side, they held on till the 83rd minute until a diagonal left footer from substitute Anayev undid Vishal Kaith.
The urgency and purpose the visitors showed is what was expected from the Mariners, considering their loft ambitions from an expensively-assembled side.
But insufficient pre-season meant Bagan coach Jose Molina could start with only three of six foreigners against the side from a country seven spots below India in the FIFA rankings.
Bagan were slow off the blocks and a yard off pace that Ahal looked capitalise from the very beginning. The Turks tried moved quickly to create a gap between Bagan’s foreigner central defensive pairing of Tom Aldred and Alberto Rodriguez.
The post denied them on 32 minutes as Umarov Salim’s glance to a low cross from right rebounded back into play, Bagan’s response to whoch was Jason Cummings curling his left footer high and wide.
Central zone woes
Without much offering while going forward from their central midfield duo of Apuia and Deepak Tangri, Bagan tried overhead balls to get behind the Ahal defence, with scant success.
To get more foothold at the centre of the pitch, Molina brought on Jamie Mclaen and Anirudh Thapa just before the hour mark as Berenov menacingly cut in past Tangri and Asish Rai to force a diving stop from Kaith.
Ahal were more intent to move the ball on the ground swiftly forward, looking to release their forwards through the channel’s of Bagan’s four-man defence line, which paid dividends in the end.
Though Bagan’s build-up play improved, leading to a couple of sighters at goal, Cummings was neither able to finish them with his preferred left foot nor set up Mclaren from a close range finish.
Robson Robinho got onto the pitch on 72nd minute and had Sahal Abdul Samad, shifted to right wing from the central position he began with, kept his low drive inside the three sticks, the big-money summer transfer move could have delivered instant justification.
But the India international blasted wide, which the 19-year-old Anayev didn’t when he got a chance to shoot two minutes later at the other end.