Brilliant Colaco volley fetches toppers Mohun Bagan win

Brilliant Colaco volley fetches toppers Mohun Bagan win

Brilliant Colaco volley fetches toppers Mohun Bagan win ByDhiman SarkarDhiman Sarkar Jan 27, 2025 10:24 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Kolkata: Liston Colaco's stunning goal secures Mohun Bagan's 1-0 win over Bengaluru FC, putting them atop the ISL with 40 points.

Kolkata: Liston Colaco scored a goal as sweet as it was stunning and it may have volleyed the league shield into the offices of Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s Liston Colaco (second from left) and Subhasish Bose try to deny Bengaluru FC’s Nikhil Poojary at Salt Lake stadium on Monday. (ISL)

With six rounds to go and 18 done, Mohun Bagan are the first team to 40 points and turning the race for the top spot in the league phase of the Indian Super League (ISL) into a procession. The 74th minute strike that fetched a 1-0 win will be played on a loop for all those of a green and maroon persuasion. Ditto Colaco’s shirtless celebration. Normally the epitome of sangfroid, even Jose Molina got into the swing of things and enveloped Colaco in a hug. When Colaco scores, his teams win. It is an ISL truism that didn’t change on Monday.

In clusters of pink, Bengaluru FC swarmed Mohun Bagan. They had come to Salt Lake stadium with a sense of purpose that had been missing in their last four games this month from where they had gleaned all of one point. Gerard Zaragoza lived every minute of what his team did on the pitch, the Bengaluru FC coach looking supercharged. After 35 minutes, Mohun Bagan had had only 29% possession.

Amid the press, the energy and the intensity, what they may have missed was moments of calm. The frenzy may even have got to Sunil Chhetri, normally the coolest head on the pitch. Chinglensana Singh, Chhetri and Alberto Noguera worked a little triangle of passes before Noguera found the former India captain and the highest goalscorer in ISL history with a clever reverse pass. At 45+1, it would have been the perfect end to the half they had dominated. But with Manvir Singh on him and Vishal Kaith closing in, Chhetri was not allowed to open his shoulders and aim for the far post. To the near post he had to go, and missed.

Chhetri banged the upright in frustration and tugged hard at his shirt as the players trooped off. Bengaluru FC had the better of the big chances but had nothing to show for it. Chhetri had a snap shot that was off target and Ryan Williams hit straight to Kaith after stealing into a pocket of space to meet Noguera’s pass.

A lot of that also had to do with the calm Mohun Bagan exuded. They absorbed the pressure and looked to hit on the counter. Greg Stewart tried to find Colaco but Nikhil Poojary denied him. The deliveries in the final third were not going to men they were intended for but out of possession with Subhasish Bose being the first among equals, with Tom Aldred pulling out a diving header and Lalengmawia Ralte superbly mopping up, Mohun Bagan were okay with everything that was being thrown at them. They looked like they expected it and had come prepared.

True, the wide men were kept quiet, true Manvir Singh had to help Dippendu Biswas because Chhetri was always a clear and present danger. But with Deepak Tangri also lending a shoulder, Mohun Bagan ensured that Ashish Rai was not missed. And when they moved up, rare though it was, Mohun Bagan had men in the rival penalty area. It didn’t lead to much, till it did.

The goal summed up the poise Mohun Bagan showed all evening. Nearly every outfield player had a touch as the ball was moved from left to right and to the left again. Not known for going into challenges, Maclaren did that more often than he has all season. And it was because he was on Rahul Bheke that the Bengaluru FC centre-back couldn’t get enough power on his headed clearance. It fell to Colaco and he got the sweetest of touches from nearly 20 yards out. Looking more assured than he has had in recent matches, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had no chance. Bengaluru FC wouldn’t have even if they had two goalkeepers on the pitch.

It was a strike that would have deflated any team. More so if they had given as much as Bengaluru FC had. Credit to them that Bheke still managed to rise and get a free header to a stoppage-time corner-kick from Williams but they ended the second half like the first, also off target. “Fatal January,” said Zaragoza.