Mohun Bagan thrash Army XI 6-0 in CFL clash

Nigerian forward Danier Bidemi starred in the Mariners’ trout with four goals…

Mohun Bagan thrashed Army XI 6-0 in the Calcutta Football League Premier Division match played at Mohun Bagan Ground earlier today. Daniel Bidemi(13', 54', 65', 90+2') scored four goals while Darryl Duffy(60') and Azharuddin Mallick(76') scored one each for Bagan. Bagan took charge of the match from the word go as the weakened Army side looked shaky at the back. They were without their coach and many key players in their ranks who were either on Indian Super League duty or on Durand Cup duty for their respective sides. The Mariners could have been 1-0 up if Azhar's shot would not have missed the target. They did not have to wait too long as Bidemi drew first blood for Bagan in the 13th minute when Azharuddin's cross from the left flank was pushed by Daniel and it went straight into the net deflecting off an Army defender. Mohun Bagan had a lot of opportunities in the first half but Army defenders stood like a wall after conceding the first goal. The scoreline did not change with Bagan leading 1-0 at the end of first half. The second half saw a rampage from the Mariners as they simply toyed with the Army defense. In the 53rd minute, Saran Singh’s cross was deflected in the box and Bidemi made no mistake to head the ball into the back of the net. In the 59th minute, the Army back four missed the flight of a Prabir Das cross and Bidemi did tremendously well to create an easy opportunity for Scottish striker Duffy to pen his name on the score sheet which he accepted with both hands. In the 65th minute, Bidemi again thrashed his way through to shade past the Army defender with his left hand to place the ball into the back of the net with his weaker left foot. Azharuddin Mallick got the reward for his hardwork as Prabir’s cross from the right was efficiently tapped in by the young forward in the 76th minute to make it 5-0! The talented youngster also placed a brilliant through ball for the hat-trick hero Bidemi in added time to make it 6-0 for the Green and Maroon brigade. Daniel Bidemi, who has a contract with Mohun Bagan until the end of the CFL said, “My dream is to don the Green and Maroon jersey in the I-League and with my performance I feel my dream will come true as the officials had made it clear in my contract that my performance will be under the scanner and then they will decide on a long term deal."