A penalty on either side of the break decided the fate of the I-League match where a 10-man Mohun Bagan played out a 1-1 draw with Shillong Lajong FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.
Aser Dipanda Dicka found the target for Mohun Bagan before Lajong captain Samuel Lalmuanpuia found the equaliser late in the second half.
Bagan was reduced to 10 men with 16 minutes remaining when its Nigerian defender Kingsley Eze was marched off following a second booking.
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An injury-hit Bagan failed to recall the combination that gave it a 5-0 win over Churchill Brothers in the previous home outing as coach Sanjoy Sen had to find replacements for the likes of Haitian Sony Norde, Liberian Ansumana Kromah and Japanese Yuta Kinowaki, who were ruled out of the match.
Bagan controlled the pace right from the beginning with Dicka taking the attack to the opposition with a couple of good attempts.
The real opportunity came in the 12th minute when Bagan’s other attacker Sheikh Faiaz was brought down inside the box by the Lajong defender Rakesh Pradhan. Dicka converted from the spot.
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Looking at preserving the lead, Bagan slowed down the pace after the break and that proved costly as Lajong earned a penalty in the 72nd minute when its Yemeni attacking midfielder Aiman Al Hagri was felled inside the box by Bagan defender Kingshuk Debnath. Lalmuanpuia found the net for the visitors.
The result: Mohun Bagan 1 (Dipanda Dicka 12-pen) drew with Shillong Lajong FC 1 (Samuel Lalmuanpuia 72-pen).