Bagan edge past Eastern Railway 1-0 in Sahara football meet

Kolkata: Defending champions Mohun Bagan on Sunday registered a solitary-goal win over Eastern Railway thanks to Abraham Bobby Fanny`s own goal in the Sahara Kolkata Premier Football League here.

With this win Bagan now have 16 points from seven matches, while Eastern Railway remained at the same spot with four points from 11 outings. East Bengal lead the league table with 30 points from 10 matches. With relegation looming large, Eastern Railway, who had won the league way back in 1958, today put up an improved show, keeping the Bagan front-liners at bay for a major part of the match. Their defenders, especially Babun Kar and Santanu, kept a strict vigil on striker Chiddi, seldom allowing him the freedom to break through. Railway custodian Biswanath Sengupta, who was named the Man of the Match, dished out a fine show to thwart most of Bagan`s attacks. Though Bagan dominated possession, they sorely missed the presence of ebullient striker Subair Muritala Ali. In partnership with Chiddi, Muritala troubled almost all their rivals in front of the post. The striker could not take the field today due to double bookings. In Muritala`s absence, both Chiddi and Jose Barreto looked off colour. Bagan went into offensive from the word go and nearly scored in the very first minute, but Soharbuddin`s header was smartly kept out by Sengupta. Bagan created another chance in the 22nd minute but Chiddi shot over from close range. Eastern Railway, though content with their defensive approach, made some sporadic raids into the Bagan half. They could have scored in the 38th minute but medio Antony Soren missed the target narrowly. After the change of ends, Bagan went all out and made a series of raids through Sohrabuddin and Asim Biswas, but their headers narrowly missed the target. With the match heading towards a draw after a series of misses, the all-important goal came when Fanny, in a moment of sheer indiscretion, shot the ball into his own team`s net. PTI