Mohun Bagan, fighting for survival in the National Football League, paid for easy misses to finish goalless against Churchill Brothers, Goa in a dull encounter in Kolkata on Monday.
Bagan striker Ashim Biswas and substitute Sunil Chettri squandered rosy chances on a couple of occasions as the green-maroon brigade remained contended with one point from their penultimate match at the Salt Lake stadium.
With 21 points from as many outings, the three time champions face a must win situation against Indian Bank in their last match and still have to depend on performances of other Kolkata sides Mohammedan Sporting and Tollygunge Agragami to stay afloat.
Churchill, on the other hand, had their purpose served bagging one point from the away match to cull 33 points from 21 matches, standing fourth in the league table.
Bagan, handicapped by the absence of skipper Renedy Singh who picked up a red card against East Bengal, showed some urgency in the initial period, but failed to do the needful.
Biswas missed a sitter in the 29th minute as he failed to connect well a Rishi Kapoor cross from left. Chettri followed his senior in the dying minutes when he side-netted the ball from close range with the rival custodian Regan Almao at his mercy.
The Goan side, who focussed more on keeping possession, tried a few long rangers and carried out some counter-attacks but to no avail. Their dreaded striker Yusif Yakubu, the leading scorer with 14 goals, failed to cut any mark.
© 2024 Rediff.com -