PUNE: A goalkeeping howler from Shilton Paul helped bottom-placed Kalyani Bharat FC stun league leaders Mohun Bagan 1-0 in an I-League match at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Sunday.
With the victory, the fight for the league title hotted up with just Mohun Bagan’s lead slashed to a single point after the 16th round. They remained on 32 points just ahead of Bengaluru FC (31).
Bharat FC improved a rung, eclipsing Sporting Cube De Goa (14) to the 10th spot with 15 points.
Subash Singh scored the match-clinching goal with an opportunistic strike which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
The home team was quicker off the blocks building some promising attacks but lost composure in front of the penalty box against a well organised Mohun Bagan backline.
But they enjoyed control in the midfield and combined well to trouble the opposing defence.
Mohun Bagan took a quarter of an hour to assert their influence on the proceedings. Haitian forward Sony Norde was the fulcrum of their forward forays, attempting long-range efforts from either feet.
They got their first real chance when Balwant Singh crept in behind the Pune backline following an overhead through ball but his strong shot was well saved by goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya on 28 minutes.
But just as Mohun Bagan stepped up the pressure, they conceded completely against the run of play when their goalkeeper Shilton Paul made a grave mistake of unnecessarily delaying to effect a seemingly harmless clearance.
His kick richocheted off an outstretched leg of striker Subhash Singh into an empty net, making a fool out of the hapless goalkeeper in the 34th minute.
The suddenness of such a demoralising goal stunned the league leaders but they responded positively and went on the offensive after the break.
But creating chances they squandered the opportunities to equalise. Feeling the pressure mounting, Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen introduced striker Jeje Lalpekhlua in place of an off-colour Pierre Boya in the 60th minute.
They became desperate to get the equaliser and consequently were exposed at the back. Utilising the slackness, Subash Singh twice got into scoring areas and should have increased the margin for Bharat FC. But he was denied by an onrushing Shilton on both occasions which partially redeemed his earlier goof-up.
But that was simply not enough as his team-mates failed to provide him atonement by scoring despite possessional and territorial supremacy. (ians)
