I-League: Ansumana Kromah, Aser Dipanda Dicka help Mohun Bagan thrash Churchill Brothers 5-0

Barasat: Aser Dipanda Dicka struck twice to power Mohun Bagan to a 5-0 thrashing of Churchill Brothers as another goal fest was witnessed in the I-League football fixture at the Barasat Stadium on Sunday. On a rain-drenched afternoon, it was also raining goals after Ansumana Kromah (23rd minute) opened the scoring, firing in from just outside the box, before Dipanda Dicka (34th, 46th) made it 3-0 after the break. [caption id=“attachment_4251993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mohun Bagan’s Ansumana Kromah in action action Churchill Brothers. Image courtesy: I-League[/caption] Having set up two, former Mohammedan Sporting midfielder Sheikh Faiaz (49th) notched his maiden goal of the I-League before captain Sony Norde (84th) joined the party despite struggling with a knee injury. Man-of-the-match Dicka had a fine run in the stoppage time and almost made it 6-0 for Mohun Bagan but he missed his hat-trick from a sitter to spare Churchill further embarrassment. The five-star show also matched their arch-rival East Bengal’s 5-1 rout of Shillong Lajong at the same venue on Saturday. Mohun Bagan and Minerva Punjab now have seven points each after three rounds but the Kolkata giants have a goal difference of six as compared to three of the Ludhiana outfit. Despite their superlative victory, Mohun Bagan had some concerns as four of their players, including Haitian star player Norde, were down with their respective injuries on the artificial turf. Norde entered his name into the scoresheet after brilliantly cutting in from the left to convert a powerful shot from the edge of the box but he soon started limping and was attended by the physio. Having exhausted all his substitutions, coach Sanjoy Sen had no option as Norde was seen continuing with the proceedings with a strapped knee. Earlier, Kromah also looked to be in pain with a groin injury and was replaced by Rana Gharami, while Japanese medio Yuta Kinowaki (collar bone) was stretchered off to ambulance in the seventh minute and defender Arijit Bagui (ankle) too was replaced. But Mohun Bagan enjoyed a 60 per cent possession and ruled the roost to hand Churchill Brothers a second defeat in as many matches. Kromah looked in imperious form against his former team and missed a chance in the 18th minute but he did not have to wait long. Faiaz set the opening goal for Kromah from a corner as the Liberian struck with power and precision and Churchill Brother goalkeeper James Kithan looked absolutely clueless. Last season’s top scorer, Dicka doubled the lead to bring an end to his goal drought from a thorough ball as he only had the goalkeeper to beat inside the box and he put it past Kithan with minimum fuss. Mohun Bagan took less than 30 seconds after the break to add to their tally when Dicka made most of a cross by Faiaz from the right to finish things in style. With hardly any tackle from the Churchill Brothers’ defence, Dicka made full use of the cross and targeted the space near the post to put the ball into the net. Former Mohammedan Sporting midfielder Faiaz then notched his maiden I-League goal from yet another defensive lapse by the Goans. A howler by Monday Osagie left Kromah inside the box as he dribbled past his former teammates to set it up for a surging Faiaz to make full use of the open space, while Norde sealed the rout. Mohun Bagan forward lineup combined well and kept piling pressure on Churchill Brothers whose coach Mykola Shevchenko looked frustrated as his defenders gave a lot of space to their opponents.