Sitting on the sideline, his leg taped, Okolie Onyeka Odafa had appeared fidgety at the Nehru Stadium here the other day.
He had injured his foot in the Calcutta League derby and looked restless as he watched his teammates warm up for the Federation Cup here.
The injury had forced Odafa to skip the opener here but on Saturday, he looked hungry and in a hurry on his return.
Odafa’s openerOdafa opened his tally in the 11th minute in a goalmouth melee that followed a corner and then set up two more for his teammates. And 14 minutes before the end, he scored one more with a lovely bicycle kick.
Chizoba Christopher also pumped in two while Japanese playmaker Katsumi Yusa and substitute Ujjal Howladar scored the other goals in the Bagan party. Two of Bagan’s goals were real gems. Odafa sent a long cross to Zakeer on the right who set it up nicely for Christoper to score. That was the team’s second goal. Yusa had his name on the next one, foxing the goalkeeper Ralte with a small step before tapping the ball home coolly.
Later, Salgaocar defeated Mumbai FC 2-1 for its first win in Group C.
The match saw Mumbai FC captain Yusuf Yakubu messing up a penalty and a player from both teams sent off.
After two games each in Group C, Mohun Bagan has six points while both Salgaocar and Shillong Lajong have three each and Mumbai FC is yet to open its account.
Bagan, which is currently the group topper, will now have to wait for the last set of matches in its pool on January 21 to confirm its place in the semifinal.
Churchill Brothers made the semifinal grade on Friday night. The league matches resume on Monday after a day’s break.
The results:Group C: Mohun Bagan 6 (Okolie Odafa 11 & 76, Chizoba Christoper 23 & 60, Katsumi Yusa 30, Ujjal Howladar 90+2) bt Shillong Lajong 0; Salgaocar 2 (Pradeep 46, Oliviera 74-pen) bt Mumbai FC 1 (Foschini 12).
