Mohun Bagan drop points again in CFL

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan SG's poor start to the 2024-2025 season continues as they let two-goal advantage slip before sharing the spoils with ASOS Rainbow AC 2-2 in their CFL Premier Division match in Barrackpore on Saturday.
Suhail Bhat put Mohun Bagan in front with a brace, scoring in 14 and 26 minutes. But Rainbow captain Sourav Dasgupta led his team's fightback in spectacular fashion in the first half itself, reducing the margin in the 43rd minute with a brilliantly-executed free-kick.
Two minutes later, Rajon Barman earned and converted a penalty to ensure a point for his team.
This was for the second match running Deggie Cardozo's Bagan dropped points following their 1-1 draw with Bhawanipore FC in their CFL opener four days ago during which they also took the lead.
They followed a similar script when Suhail first met L Taison Singh's floater with a diving header to break the deadlock and then followed the latter's free-kick from the rivals' halfway line perfectly to beat Rainbow goalkeeper Shilton Paul in the air to make it 2-0.
However, Rainbow turned the game on its head as the contest was nearing the end of the opening 45 minutes.
In the 43rd minute Rajon invited a foul from Bagan's Saurabh Bhanwala just outside the D and Sourav came up with a perfectly-measured free kick to beat rival goalkeeper Raja Barman.
Rainbow came calling with another attack immediately when Rajon was brought down by Bagan defender Sayan Das inside the box, prompting referee Debabrata Naskar to point to the spot. Rajon stepped up to beat the Bagan custodian for the second time.
Bagan returned to the field showing more urgency and determination in search of a winning goal but they were denied by their former goalkeeper Shilton Paul, who came up with a series of crucial saves.
SATURDAY'S OTHER RESULTS: Peerless 3 Police AC 0; Kalighat SLA 1 Bhawanipore FC 5