Bagan lose 2-3 to Chirag in I-League

City giants Mohun Bagan paid the price for poor defending as they went down 2-3 to Chirag United in their I-league lung opener on Monday.

A reckless tackle by Bagan sideback Sur Kumar Singh also cost his team dear as he was shown the red card towards the end of the first half at the Salt Lake stadium, reducing the former champions to ten men for the rest of the outing.

Brazilian Josimaar Da Silva struck a brace while Edmilson Marques scored the other goal for Chirag, while Brazilians Marcos Pereira and Rakesh Masih found the target for the losers, who continued their tradition of beginning their I-League fixtures on a wrong note.

Bagan's attacking prowess was weakened from the start as Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto had to sit out as he was not fully fit. The famed green and maroon outfit were further jolted when they fell one man short as Sur Kumar lost his cool after a Gouranga Biswas charge and brought him down only to earn the marching orders from referee Pratap Singh in the 42nd minute.

But still Mohun Bagan managed to draw first blood in the 16th minute as Chirag goalkeeper Sandip Nandy made heavy weather of a weak shot from Marcos and the ball went into the net off Nandy's gloves.

Chirag leveled in the 32nd minute through a penalty that was given when Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee felled Edmilson inside the box. The Brazilian made no mistake in converting the easiest of setpieces.

In the second session, Chirag controlled the proceedings by utilising their numerical superiority.

They seized the lead in the 66th minute, as Shylo Malswamtluanga addressed a cross to Josimaar, who nodded home. A short while later, Josimaar widened the gulf by putting into the net a pass from skipper Denson Devdas.

However, Bagan played their heart out and succeeded in making the scoreline 3-2, courtesy a faux pas on Nandy's part. The mistake earned Bagan a corner and Masih nodded in following the setpiece.