Aizawl FCShillong/Kolkata: In one of the biggest achievements in Indian football history, unheralded Aizawl FC on Sunday lifted the I-League crown after they held Shillong Lajong 1-1 in a tense match here.
Lajong went ahead in the ninth minute through A Dipanda but Aizawl equalized in the 67th minute through W Lalnunfela as the two sides split points in a highly-anticipated match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Despite Mohun Bagan defeating Chennai City FC 2-1 in a simultaneous match in Kolkata, Aizawl ran away with the title to script a fairytale story.
Aizawl ended the league on 37 points while Mohun Bagan finished second on 36. They have won the I-League title in their second season, becoming the first club from the Northeast to bag the title.
It was, in fact, the Leicester moment for the Aizawl side as their fortunes turned around in just a matter of a year after they were on the verge of relegation from the I-League last season.
Aizawl would not have at all played in the I-League this season as they finished eighth last year but after a few Goan sides pulled out of the country's top-flight league, they got a lifeline to stay afloat.
Their feat is comparable to the unheralded English Premier League side Leicester which won the title in 2015-16 season after they were on the verge of relegation the previous year.
A club whose budget is just around Rs 2 crore (Mohun Bagan spend the same amount in buying Sony Norde), it's an achievement of enormous proportion.
The match, the Northeast derby, was though not without controversy as Aizawl played under protest after finding out that the title-deciding game would be conducted by officials from Bengal.
Aizawl protested because Kolkata side Mohun Bagan were also in title contention and playing a simultaneous match. The Northeastern club said that they have earlier requested the AIFF to appoint neutral match officials from other states.
Bagan beat Chennai FC 2-1
Ten-man Mohun Bagan brilliantly bounced back through a Darryl Duffy goal to down Chennai City FC 2-1. The clash lived up to the expectation as there was high drama starting with the news that Aizawl conceded a ninth minute goal to leave the Rabindra Sarobar home crowd in a frenzy mode.
But in the 32nd minute, Mohun Bagan's U-22 recruit Nanda Kumar silenced the crowd when he darted the ball and scored with a gentle push, showing immaculate presence of mind.
What followed was some missed opportunities with Balwant at the receiving end, but Mohun Bagan finally scored the equalizer in the 45+2 minute through captain Katsumi Yusa.
The unlucky Balwant got this time right to set Katsumi up. The ball was in the air as Balwant, with his back to the goal, chested it down to Katsumi who put it past Karanjit Singh.
Substitute Jeje Lalpekhlua got the better of Debabrata Roy on the right channel and a cross near the byline saw Duffy place it brilliantly from the first-timed shot to take Mohun Bagan ahead in the 77th minute.
But all hell broke loose for the home side when their promising custodian Debjit Majumder was red-carded two minutes later in a seemingly dubious decision when he thwarted Nandakumar Soosai Raj inside the box in what appeared a clean tackle.
Arguments and protests with referee Tejas Nagvenkar followed as Shibinraj Kunniyil came in for Majumder but Mohun Bagan held on to the lead till the end.
With their fate hinging on Aizawl's loss at Shillong, Mohun Bagan got the big news when Lajong drew the first blood in the ninth minute.
The crowd erupting in joy, Mohun Bagan went for the jugular but it was Chennai who were gifted three setpieces but none of them looked promising.
Their first chance came in the 22nd minute when Duffy set up Balwant but was thwarted by a Chennai defender.
Nothing went Balwant's way as he missed an open net in the 29th minute from a grounded cross from Yusa as minutes later Rabindra Sarobar crowd were left stunned.
Smarting from their 0-1 setback in Aizawl, Mohun Bagan made two changes for the all-important clash of the season, by bringing in Balwant and Raynier Fernandes in place of Jeje Lalpekhlua and Azharuddin Mallick.
Chennai coach V. Soundararajan also showed his full intent and rung in five changes from the 1-6 loss at Churchill Brothers.
