Rounds 1 & 2:
Four teams share the top spot of the 12-team 5th National Football League with four points apiece, but, while, there is nothing surprising about defending champions Mohun Bagan being there, the other presence of the other three FC Kochin, Vasco Sports Club and Indian Telephone Industries would certainly raise eyebrows.
FCK barely had a team until a few days ago, Vasco are making their NFL debut and ITI are no great shakes as a team. The southern outfit in fact gets higher billing over Mohun Bagan. FCK and Mohun Bagan have both earned their four points from away matches but one of Mohun Bagan's ties was played in Calcutta against Tollygunge Aggragami at the latter's home ground.
Kochin have five players from Liberia and this has added teeth to their attack. The presence of I M Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri also lends some experience to the side.
ITI and Vasco pulled off two of the shock wins in the first two rounds. Vasco got the better of Zee Churchill Bros. while ITI pulled a fast one on East Bengal.
There are three teams on three points each next with Salgaocar, East Bengal and Air-India coming in that order. Salgaocar got their three points with the biggest margin, 4-1 so far, over Air-India. And, like most clashes between these two sides, it would also go down as the most entertaining one so far.
Two teams lying at the bottom of the pack and capable of pulling themselves up when the NFL resumes in January after the Millennium Cup are Mahindra United and Churchill Bros, both with one point. Shabbir Ali's Mahindra United lost to Air-India while Churchill's loss came at the hands of Vasco.
The only team not to log any point was Amal Dutta's Tollygunge Aggragami who lost both their home matches to East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

Round 3:
What is wrong with Churchill Bros is the question on everybody's lips as the Goan champions started on the wrong note with a defeat at the hands of FC Kochin when the NFL started its second innings last week. As everyone knows, there was a break between the second and third rounds to accommodate the Sahara Millennium Cup football tournament.
And after the third was completed, FC Kochin find themselves remaining at the top despite sharing total points with defending champion Mohun Bagan. Both are on seven points but the south side have scored more goals, six as compared to Mohun Bagan's five. Both have a goal-difference of +2.
Coming back to Churchill, they suffered their second loss in three rounds, this time losing to Kochin in an away tie. The scoreline of 1-2 indicates that it was a hard-fought win, but what it also conveys is that Kochin got three points and Churchill none. Though Churchill managed to reach the final of the Rovers Cup football tournament recently, their allround performance is yet to achieve the level of Salgaocar who had put up a much better display.
Salgaocar were into the groove straight away with a hard-fought win over JCT in what was a clash of two former champions. Eventually a penalty by Climax Lawrence decided the result of the match.
Like Salgaocar, even Mohun Bagan did not have it easy although they were playing at home. Against the much-improved Indian Telephone Industries who are being coached by former India player Mohd. Habib, Mohun Bagan's armada struggled before an R.C. Prakash, a former ITI player, settled the issue.
Mohun Bagan's citymates East Bengal scored what was the best result of the third round. A 3-1 win over State Bank of Travancore. The valuable three points puts them on par with Salgaocar with six points and close behind leaders FC Kochin and Mohun Bagan.
The two promoted sides, Air-India and Vasco were involved in a 1-1 draw at Goa with the airmen fighting back through a Narender Meetei goal. This striker is being rated very high by Air-India coach Bimal Ghosh and that should fetch him a few first eleven starts soon.
Mahindra United continue to disappoint with a goalless draw with Tollygunge Aggragami for whom it was the first point. The Mumbai outfit blooded their new Iranian recruit, Dauoud Hosseni but coach Shabbir Ali's head on the chopping block if Mahindra do not bring in the desired results.

Round 4:
At the end of four rounds, former champion Salgaocar remained in the fray with a comfortable win over Tollygunge Agragami in a home match. And incidentally, Salgaocar are yet to move out for away matches.
What the victory has achieved is that the Goan side have closed in on leader Mohun Bagan who displaced FC Kochin on goaldifference. Coincidentally all three sides have now won three wins on the trot. Mohun Bagan defeated State Bank of Travancore 3-0 and FC Kochin edged past Air-India 2-1. And there it is again - all matches at home.
This scheduling of home and away matches is bound to affect the fortunes of certain teams. Like for example, JCT and SBT are yet to play even a single match at home in Ludhiana and Thiruvananthapuram, respectively. JCT's opening match against Mohun Bagan was conducted at New Delhi and is technically the Northern outfit's 'home' match. But coach Sukhwinder Singh's side has not gained anything from it.
After four rounds, twice runners-up Churchill Bros. are yet seeking their first win. This time they were forced to split points with East Bengal in a home match. Rumours of coach T. Gregory getting boot turned true and PM Sivadas, who was told not to get up from the bed after an ankle operation, took his place.
Mahindra United finally got three points that they were desperately seeking. And it came from a beautifully crafted left-foot goal by Manjit Singh against a none-too-easy opponent, Indian Telephone Industries. ITI very nearly earned a draw but a last-minute effort by their Iranian defender saw the ball crashing off the post.
Mark my words, Vasco are going to be the surprise packet of this NFL. Never mind they are yet to step out of Goa. They ensured that JCT's stay in Goa would not be a memorable one by eking out a narrow 1-0 win over them.

Round 5:
Mohun Bagan continued to be on a roll as the fifth round was completed last week. But the three points did not come easily for the defending champions. It was a long struggle for them against Mahindra United in an away match. The Mumbai utfit, injury ridden as they are, held on them on an even keel for a good part of the match and only an alleged injury to Habib Adenkunle, which saw him off the ground for a few minutes , saw Mohun Bagan's Jose Barretto head in the only goal of the match.
Mohun Bagan's citymates East Bengal pulled off a stunning away win, a 2-0 convincing triumph over former champions Salgaocar Sports Club. The records show that it is the first time that East Bengal have a won an NFL match against Salgaocar at Goa. Having changed coaches midstream - Manoranjan Bhattacharjee coming in place of Syed Nayeemuddin - has not changed their prospects as they have got two wins and a draw so far since the change of guard.
Vasco Sports Club continue to hold all the jacks with a fine 2-1, all goals coming in penalties, win over State Bank of Travancore. That places them on joint second with FC Kochin who were held to a 1-1 draw by Indian Telephone Industries at Kochi. However the southern outfit are ahead on goal-difference.
Tollygunge Aggragami and Air-India played out a dull and dreary draw at Mumbai. With the Kolkata outfit packing their defences and Air-India not managing to sieve through, a goalless draw was inevitable.
Goan champions Zee Churchill Bros. earned their first victory in the current NFL with a 4-0 thumping of champions in the inaugural year JCT. National coach Sukhwinder Singh's side is a downslide currently which could be halted only with a home match probably.

Round 6:
Mohun Bagan and FC Kochin, who along with Vasco are the only two teams not to have lost any match in the 12-team league, dished out exhilarating stuff in Kochi to play out a 2-2 draw. The match was heading in Mohun Bagan's favour when Jo Paul Ancheri essayed a free-kick to give an honourable result.
The result, of course, means Mohun Bagan remain on top with 14 points and they are now followed by their citymates East Bengal who have 13 points after a 1-0 win over Air-India in Mumbai.
It did not come easy for East Bengal whose foreigners were put to the rigours by the all-Indian side of Bimal Ghosh and only a defensive error in the second half helped the Kolkata team to earn full points.
If Air-India are having a nightmare early round, so are their city mates Mahindra United who snatched a point as their goalkeeper Virender Singh made a last-minute save against Vasco Sports Club in Margao.
Vasco are on 12 points with FC Kochin and Salgaocar who scored a crucial 2-1 win over Goan champions Churchill Bros. Dharamjit Singh scored with 10 minutes remaining for the end to give Salgoacar full points. Churchill are too going through a tough time with the club owners constantly changing decision to sack and reinstate coach Gregory T.
Amal Dutta's Tollygunge Aggragami who are hardly expected to score with a fully defensive strategy surprised Indian Telphone Industries with a Abdul Latheef Seriki goal in Bangalore. It was the first win for Tollygunge.
State Bank of Travancore and JCT played out a 1-1 draw with Harinder Singh scoring with three minutes remaining to pull back SBT's early goal.

Round 7:
All good things must come to an end and so is the case with Mohun Bagan who lost to East Bengal in the Kolkata Derby by the narrowest of margins. The goal came early in the second half through Omolaja Olalekan and the red and golden brigade had enough in them to hold on till the end.
Mohun Bagan's loss leaves Vasco and FC Kochin as the only two unbeaten teams in the 12-team 5th NFL. Will they too meet the fate of Mohun Bagan is what remains to be seen.
Vasco ventured out of familiar surroundings and fought out a goalless draw against Tollygunge Aggragami at Kolkata. They will continue to stay back for another match against East Bengal this week.
FC Kochin, who have moved out of Kochi only once in this NFL, eked out a narrow win over former champions Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills at Kochi. The matchwinner came from Aaron Cole - no relation to Andy Cole of course.
Salgaoacar are in second place after defeating Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 at Bangalore. The match-winner was scored by Alvito D'Cunha in a tie that was marred by some poor officiating by international assistant referee K Shankar. Both sides had something to complain.
The men in black were seen in poor light in the Air-India vs. Churchill Bros. match too in Mumbai. The Goan champions scored a morale-boosting and much-needed win. But they certainly were not deserving winners for the airmen were at their rampaging best but without being able to score. The only goal of the match was scored by substitute Kaustav Ghosh. The pass came from Igor Shkvirin who picked the ball from an offside position.
Mahindra United continued to drop points, this time to State Bank of Travancore after a 2-2 draw at Thiruvananthapuram. The Mumbai Harwood League champions have brought in another Iranian defender but now the problem is more upfront than behind as Raman Vijayan and Manjit Singh, both of whom scored against SBT, are the only two fit strikers.

Round 8:
East Bengal continued their reign at the top with a superb 3-0 win over yet-to-be-beaten Vasco Sports Club. The promoted Goan side continued their stay in Kolkata after their goalless draw against Tollygunge Aggragami in the seventh round and had a lot of time to get acclimatize to the conditions for their second away match in a row. Yet Derrick Perreira's side had no answer to the marauding East Bengal team which came up with a display that would have certainly pleased the supporters of the red and golden yellow brigade.
And at 19 points, they are four points clear of arch rivals Mohun Bagan who had to be satisfied with a solitary point after an exciting draw against Salgaocar at Margao. Reports indicated that the Goan side had chances few and far between while Mohun Bagan were thwarted by goalkeeper Ali Abubakar.
FC Kochin too held on to their second spot (18 points) with a comeback win over State Bank of Travancore at Thiruvanathapuram. Kochin were down 0-1 but came back in a stunning fashion to slam four with two of them coming from goalkeeper Sunday Seah.
Mahindra United scored a much-sought-after victory with a 2-0 margin over Churchill Bros. at home. A stunning left-foot volley by Iranian Davoud Hosseini got them the first and then Raman Vijayan connected to a well-orchestrated move from the left by Shamsy Raza and Abhay Kumar. Churchill were down to 10 men when Edson de Crasto was sent off with a second yellow card punishment. Overall the behaviour of the Churchill players were shocking to say the least.
Air-India's Khalid Jamil scored a wonderful free-kick against Indian Telephone Industries in Mumbai but their tale of missed chances continued as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Champions of the first year JCT are finding no solution to their prospects as they remain first from back after a goalless draw against Tollygunge Agragami at Ludhiana.

Round 9:
Aided by a self goal by Christopher and another by their own Sur Kumar Singh, East Bengal are riding high as they scored their seventh win in nine matches in the 5th National Football League. The 2-0 win at Kolkata has the red and golden brigade at 22 points which is one point ahead of second-placed FC Kochin who are the only unbeaten side in the NFL so far.
Kochin breached the normally tight defence of Amal Dutta's Tollygunge Aggragami. But none of their strikers managed to do it and it was left to Sunday Seah, the goalkeeper, to score the matchwinner and his fourth goal of the NFL.
What has gone wrong with their luck is what Mohun Bagan coach Subroto Bhattacharjee would be asking his players. In the last four matches, the defending champions have lost two and drawn the others. In their ninth round tie, Mohun Bagan lost Churchill Bros. who themselves are going through a bad patch having just lost to Mahindra United in Mumbai. But goals by Igor Shkvrin and Andre Requena have taken the Goan champions to double figures.
While their Mumbai mates, Air-India scored a thundering 4-3 win over JCT, the Mahindra graph took a downswing with the loss to East Bengal.
The Air-India vs. JCT encounter should rank as one of the best matches of the NFL, not this but the history too. Down 1-3 at half-time, Air-India fought and how. They came back with three goals in the second half, one by a penalty, to score only their second win, the first coming in the opening match of this edition on December 14.
Former champions Salgaocar also came up with up-and-down stuff against State Bank of Travancore in Margao. Up by two goals by the 15th minute, they went on the defensive and had to survive a barrage of attack to last out the match.
Vasco would have hoped for some luck against bottom-placed ITI for they had three gilt-edged chances and all for Peter Rodrigues. And all three went abegging as the Bangalore outfit escaped with a draw.

Round 10:
East Bengal and Fc Kochin have set up the expected showdown which will reveal who leads at the halfway stage. After 10 rounds, only one point separates the two with the Kolkata brigade on 25 and Kochin on 24. The clash of the titans is scheduled for Tuesday at Kochin.
Both score splendid away victories by a similar 1-0 margins. First Kochin put it across Mahindra United in Mumbai to put the pressure on East Bengal who would have trailed with a draw. But they rose to the occasion when Srikanta Dutta got the matchwinner in the dying minutes of the game against Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills, Phagwara in Ludhiana. Dutta was the leading scorer a couple of years back at the Guwahati National championship for the Santosh Trophy.
After a long time Kochin found no use for their goalkeeper Sunday Seah as a striker. With the goal coming in the first half itself, coach A.M. Sreedharan thought it better to retain Seah in the goal itself.
RC Prakash, the brilliant Mohun Bagan striker who has netted nearly 30 goals for his side this season, was in fine fettle as he notched up the first hat-trick of the 5th NFL. His strikes came against the beleaguered Air-India from whom much was expected after their come-from-behind win over JCT in the ninth round.
Salgaocar met with a small accident when their statemates Vasco arrested their progress with a wonderful 2-1 win in Margao. To the credit of the debutants they have now beaten both the other Goan teams. In the first round last December, Vasco had beaten Churchill Bros. 1-0.
The Goan champions, Churchill got their second consecutive win with a narrow 2-1 margin over Indian Telephone Industries in Margao.
Tollygunge Aggragami were close to losing at home to SBT who were leading 2-1 at the break but Emeka Achilefu's second half equalizer saw SBT still thirsting for their first win.

Round 11:
The contest for the halfway toppers proved to be an exciting one with FC Kochin and East Bengal playing a fast-paced goal-missing goalless encounter at Kochin. With the one point that the Kolkata team earned from this, they managed to nose out the southern outfit by the proverbial whisker for the top spot at the end of 11 rounds. East Bengal have 26 points while Kochin are a point behind.
In the history of the NFL only Air-India have managed to remain unbeaten in the first leg when they did not lose for nine matches in the first round and two in the second during the 2nd National football league.
The headlines in the 11th round was grabbed by young Bungo Singh of Air-India who struck four goals in-a-row against State Bank of Travancore in a home match. The airmen won 6-1 which was another high in NFL history. JCT beat Mahindra 6-1, Mahindra have beaten ITI 6-0 and Dempo 7-1 and Dempo bested FC Kochin 5-3 which are some of the top match-scores in NFL archives.
Bungo's four is the second-highest individual score with Bhaichung Bhutia topping with five goals against Mahindra and Mahindra in the first NFL.
The 11th round matches augured well for Mumbai teams as first Air-India entered double figures and then Mahindra United stunned Salgaocar, who are in the fourth spot, 2-1 at home. Mahindra are on 13 points, one point and one place ahead of Air-India who are in the eighth spot.
In the third spot is defending champion Mohun Bagan who, with the return of the Jose Barreto after a one-match suspension for two yellow cards, inflicted Vasco's second defeat in Kolkata. One goal each by Barretto, RC Prakash, who is now the highest scorer with seven goals, and James Singh took the wind out of Vasco who have not done too well in their three away matches. The Goan debutants have played two `home' matches which are actually `away' matches for them and won both, against Churchill and Salgaoacar.
Despite the loss, Vasco are in a creditable fifth spot, two points ahead of Goan champions Churchill Bros who escaped with a goalless draw against Tollygunge Aggragami in Kolkata. Amal Dutta's side have drawn six, the maximum amongst the 12 sides and are on the ninth spot.
Bangalore side ITI are still thriving on the three points that they earned over East Bengal to be on eight points and in the 10th spot. They drew goalless with JCT at Ludhiana. The Northern outfit and SBT are on five points with JCT ahead on goal-difference.

Round 12:
Salgaocar are going through the worst times. Their third successive defeat couldn't have come at a more worse time than now. On Sunday they lost to minnows State Bank of Travancore 0-2 in Thiruvananthampuram and handed out a first victory for the home team. The former champions are indeed going through a wretched form which could only worsen as they lose three key players (Alvito D'Cunha, Robert Fernandes and Jules Alberto) quit the NFL to participate in the camp for the Pre-World Cup ties.
NFL toppers East Bengal and FC Kochin should consider themselves lucky to escape with draws in the 12th round. While East Bengal scored none and conceded none against a prolific Mahindra United, the southern outfit escaped with a 1-1 draw at home against Tollygunge Agragami. The equalizer came in the added on time when Dinesh Nair's centre was headed into his own goal by Felix Abayomi.
Only one point continues to separate the two sides.
Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, made some mistakes to allow Churchill Bros. back into the game after leading 2-0 in Kolkata. RC Prakash got his eighth and Basudeb Mondal his second as the defending champions were leading comfortably and on way to another victory. But the defense made errors and Churchill came back with goals from Francis Silveira and Jose Colaco.
There were two more goalless draws in the 12th round. Air-India and JCT, who had played out an exciting 3-4 tie in Ludhiana, missed chances aplenty while Bangalore too witnessed an exciting draw between Indian Telephone Industries and Vasco Sports Club who are fifth in the table now.

Round 13:
What happened to football teams on a Wednesday evening could well be a title of a movie. On March 14, three top teams met their Waterloo with southern outfit State Bank of Travancore stumping defending champions Mohun Bagan at home. It was their second win on the trot as in the 12th round they had beaten Salgaocar.
It was an amazing victory really, for SBT, full of Indian players, had take a 3-0 lead before Mohun Bagan hit back through Jose Barreto who added one more after the break. SBT made things really safe by inflicting a rare humiliating defeat on the champions ever.
Salgaocar made it four defeats in-a-row as Amal Dutta's Tollygunge Aggragami squeaked through with a solitary goal. Eversince beating SBT at home, Salgaocar have lost their matches. And this come amidst some tension in the team as the management has sacked Gbenga Lawal. Like Stephan Abarowei, who was shown the door by Churchill Bros., Lawal was accused of instigating other players.
Indian Telephone Industries provided the third surprising result of the day when they got past Mahindra United's Virender Singh only once which was enough for the three valuable points. Mahindra had beaten ITI in Mumbai and the Bangalore side returned the compliment in their home match.
All the bottom teams, barring Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills, Phagwara, won their matches on Wednesday. JCT managed to take a point off Vasco Sports Club in Ludhiana.
The top teams, however, have made it their own and are fighting their own battles separately. East Bengal and FC Kochin scored identical 2-1 victories - over Churchill Bros., at home and over Air-India away, respectively. Kochin did it without IM Vijayan (two yellow cards) and Patrick Nuku (hamstring injury) even though Air-India appeared to be the better side.

Round 14:
Indian Telephone Industries' shocking and surprising win over FC Kochin, Mohun Bagan's dazzling performance and the abject surrender of Mahindra United are the highlights of the 14th round which concluded on March 19 with Air-India rallying to hold Tollygunge Aggragami in Kolkata to a 1-1 draw.
Kochin's record 13-match unbeaten run came crashing like a pack of cards as they went down 1-3 in Bangalore. George Ekeh got one, K Naushad the other two as Sreedharan's team finally lost their first match of the National Football Leaugue in its fifth year.
Defending champions Mohun Bagan came back strongly after 2-4 loss to State Bank of Travancore at Thiruvananthapuram and trounced Mahindra United 6-0 with the redoubtable Jose Barretto scoring thrice and the panic-stricken Mahindra players did their cause no good by sending the ball not once but twice into their own goal much to the chagrin of goalkeeper Virender Singh.
Certain reports suggested the two own goals have been credited to RC Prakash and Dulal Biswas but there is no confirmation from the All India Football Federation yet. Though deflections are credited to the striker, these two instances clearly are clearances.
Kochin's loss and their own draw against Salgaocar saw leaders East Bengal double their one-point difference. They now have 31, while Kochin are 29.
Churchill was another side to win a match when Francis `Pocket' Silveira struck against Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills, Phagwara in their solitary goal win.
The other Goan team, Vasco, were held to a goalless by State Bank of Travancore.
Air-India missed chances galore, like in their home match, and drew with Tollygunge Aggragami in Kolkata. They will miss Khalid Jamil who was shown the red card for dissent.

Round 15:
East Bengal are going great guns. There seems to be no stopping them now. And they are getting help from unexpected quarters too. The current-league leaders defeated a confident Indian Telephone Industries via an Omolaja Olalekan goal to extend their lead over second-placed FC Kochin by five points. East Bengal are on 34 while the southern club are on 29.
East Bengal themselves were lucky to win and Vasco's win over Kochin, the latter's first at home and second loss on the trot, saw the red and golden brigade cement their place at the top.
But neither East Bengal nor Kochin can afford to take it lightly. For the real Kolkata giants are preparing to swoop down with a vengeance. Mohun Bagan who defeated Tollygunge Agragami by an RC Prakash goal are only one point behind Kochin.
Prakash would now be leaving to attend the Pre-World Cup camp in Bangalore and it remains to be seen how Brazilian Jose Barretto single-handedly guides Mohun Bagan's fortunes.
Kochin too have a task in hand as both Jo Paul Ancheri and IM Vijayan, their two mainstays, would be joining the camp. And now it is up to the Liberian Five, four of whom only can play one match, to lead the side to the victory podium.
Apart from Vasco, the other two Goan teams, Churchill Bros and Salgaocar, too emerged winners.
The Goan champions Churchill scored an edge-of-the-set nail-biting 3-2 win over State Bank of Travancore in Thiruvananthapuram. Churchill just about managed to hold out in the final ten minutes when SBT pressed hard for the equalizer to no avail.
Salgaocar who have lost four and drawn one of their previous five matches finally recharged the batteries and changed gears with a solitary goal win over Air-India in an away tie. The matchwinner was scored by Jules Alberto Pereira.
Air-India's city mates Mahindra United too ended up on the losing side, handing a 1-0 maiden 5th NFL win for Jagajit Cotton Textile Mills, Phagwara.

Round 16:
East Bengal staged the Houdini Act against Jagatjit Cotton textile Mills, Phagwara to earn a 2-2 draw and retain their spot at the top. They were looking at the other end of the barrel, trailing 1-2 against cellar team Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills Phagwara when Nigerian Omolaja Olalekan fired a brilliant long-ranger which beat goalkeeper Arvind Kumar all ends up.
Not only the match fetch them one point but it also helped them eclipse FC Kochin's record of remaining unbeaten for 13 matches on the trot. Kochin had beaten Air-India's record when they went without loss until their 14th match from the start. That will take something to beat.
Mohun Bagan sneaked past Kochin to the second place as the southern outfit lost their third successive match against Mahindra United in Kochi. It was also the second in-a-row defeat at home for them. This time the margin was a thumping one with Mahindra, who finally reversed their losing trend, by thumping four goals without reply.
The maroon and green won an acrimonious match over Air-India by a solitary second half goal struck by Amar Ganguly who finally started the match in the absence of RC Prakash. The nippy Mohun Bagan striker is in the pre-World Cup at Bangalore.
With the 16th round Salgacoar vs. Vasco match not scheduled until the end of next month, Churchill moved into fourth place with a fighting 2-1 win over Indian Telephone Industries at Bangalore. Francis Silveira struck for the Goan champions and Gyana Prakash for ITI and Igor Shkvyrin, the leading scorer of last season, made the most of a defensive lapse to get the matchwinner.
Tollygunge Aggragami scored a well-deserved win at Thiruvananthapuram over State Bank of Travancore. It is most diffcult to nail this southern outfit at home. Ask FC Kochin, Mohun Bagan and Churchill Bros. But it needed only one goal from Seriki Abdullatheef to do so.

Round 17:
East Bengal consolidated their position at the top and secured a good six-point difference, that is equivalent to two victories, over second-placed Mohun Bagan and FC Kochin.
The red and golden brigade scored a brilliant 3-1 win over Air-India in Kolkata, upping their antennae in the second half with two goals by substitute strikers Srikanta Dutta and Carlton Chapman. Earlier in the first half, Falguni Dutta had scored a brilliant goal, pounding a 20-yarder after a 15-yard solo dash which saw the ball crashing into the roof of the net. Truly a world-class effort, for rarely do we see Indian players able to maintain the perfect balance of body and head while taking close-range shots.
Mohun Bagan escaped from the jaws of defeat against Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills, Phagwara with two late goals after trailing 0-2 at Kolkata. Stand-in coach Parminder Singh seemed to have a magical hold over his players eversince he replaced Sukhwinder Singh who is on national duty. Last week they held East Bengal 2-2 and this time it was Mohun Bagan's turn.
FC Kochin caught up with Mohun Bagan following a good 2-1 win over Salgaocar in kochi. They are currently placed third on goal-difference but goalkeeper Sunday Seah's double blow must have gladdened the hearts of the Kochin supporters who were worried over the fortunes of the side after three consecutive losses in the previous three rounds.
Mahindra United and Vasco played out a unenterprising goalless draw in Mumbai. So bereft of any action was the match that the crowd rose in some excitement when the referee blew for half-time with nearly six minutes remaining.
In Thiruvananthapuram, State Bank of Travancore played out a none-too-exciting 1-1 draw against Indian Telephone Industries.

Round 18:
Tollygunge Aggragami dealt a body blow to the chances of East Bengal winning the 5th NFL. Just when the side were hoping to capitalize on the runaway six-point lead, came this surprising loss and coupled with Mohun Bagan's fantastic 4-2 win over FC Kochin, East Bengal must be hoping that it would not be a spate of reverses this time.
As it normally happens, one loss leads to another and quickly the lead is narrowed down. We have seen what happened to FC Kochin in the second leg. Tuesday's (April 10) Derby match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal could well settle the issue in somebody's favour.
Tollygunge were in a roll too. They played two matches in four days and drew the second against Indian Telephone Industries, Bangalore. Tolly were trailing 0-2 and ITI were well on their way for a hard fought win when the Kolkata outfit came back with two goals and draw the match.
Jose Baretto was in irrepressible form as he struck three goals and helped in scoring the other in Mohun Bagan's win over FC Kochin. For the southern outfit both goals came from Sunday Seah who this time played only as a striker rather than start as a goalkeeper.
Churchill Bros. scored a superb comeback win over Salgaocar in Goa. In the previous clash, Salgaocar had managed a win and now it was the turn of Churchill Bros. Dennis Cabral got the opening goal for Salgoacar but Igor Shkvrin neutralized it and then defender Osumanu Husseini got the matchwinner.
The downward slide of Mahindra United continued as they lost in the Mumbai Derby clash against Air-India. A silly defensive lapse saw Shabir Ali Mondal score his first goal of the NFL.

Round 19:
League leaders East Bengal and Mohun Bagan ensured they would remain the two main contenders for the 5th National Football League crown by playing a draw, an insipid one at that, in a 19th round return match. A goodly crowd went away disappointed by the lack of goals coming from this match.
Two cellar teams State Bank of Travancore and Indian Telephone Industries pulled off absolute stunners in this round. And it was also the first away victories for both sides.
In Mumbai, SBT downed Mahindra United in a high-scoring thriller and in a little south in Goa, ITI got the better of Salgaocar, who were seemingly coming back into the race with a win over statemates Vasco a few days earlier.
The win must have raised the hopes of the Bangalore side to avoid relegation and their next match against Air-India at home would surely finalise things, more and not less.
Air-India, the promoted side along with Vasco, meanwhile, got dragged more into a quagmire as they lost to Churchill Bros. in Goa. It was a close match as the scorline of 2-1 indicates.
Vasco, who had lost to Salgaocar in one of the postponed ties, fought tooth and nail against Tollygunge but their strikers were not up to the mark on that day as the Kolkata side escaped with a goalless draw.

Round 20:
Magician Jose Barreto is at work. Do no disturb. That is the sign outside the Mohun Bagan tent in Kolkata. The Brazilian has been in such irresistible form, that East Bengal might just find it tough to battle in the last two rounds. And the two sides are not even playing against each other.
Two days after East Bengal dished out a 1-1 draw against Vasco in Goa, Barreto struck two goals as the defending champions shut the door on Salgaocar with a 2-1 victory. And now just one point segregate the two champions-in-waiting. One slip from East Bengal in their next match against Fc Kochin, Mohun Bagan would be ready to pounce.
Churchill Bros. were stumped by a rudderless Mahindra United in Goa. The jeepmen are without their coach Shabbir Ali, but it made no difference to the jeepmen who turned in an inspired performance to win 3-1. Will this victory help the Mahindra stay above water, only time will tell.
In Kolkata, there was another surprising result when former champions Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills got full points in their match against draw-experts Tollygunge Aggragami. It was also the first win for JCT in an away match and takes them to 19 points and third from the bottom.
FC Kochin and State Bank of Travancore had already played out a 1-1 draw at the start of the 20th round matches. The contest for the third and fourth places is between Churchill Bros. and FC Kochin. A small contest within a big contest.
Air-India, like JCT, had almost got three points as they led by a first half goal against Indian Telephone Industries, Bangalore in an away tie. But ITI fought back to force the airmen to split points.

Round 21:
East Bengal are in the driver's seat, but whether they want to press on the accelerator or the brake, it is now upto them entirely. A magnificent 3-0 win over FC Kochin has taken them to 43 points and Mohun Bagan's victory over Vasco in the 21st round means the maroon and green brigade are just a solitary point behind them.
East Bengal play State Bank of Travancore in an away tie and so do Mohun Bagan who take on Indian Telephone Industries in Bangalore.
FC Kochin and Churchill play in a straight contest for the third and fourth places. Churchill almost let Kochin get away but a 1-1 draw against Tollygunge has kept them in the running, just about. Kochin play an away tie at Churchill and that should help the Goan side a bit.
Salgaocar found a resurgent Mahindra United too hot to handle and went down by the odd goal in three at Goa. The Mumbai oufit snared up their second win on the trot, both being Goan teams. They had beaten Churchill 3-1 in 20th round.
Mahindra have a wonderful opportunity to finish as high as fifth presuming the other results fall into place. A few hours will tell whether manager Harish Rao can motivate his side to another victory. They take on Tollygunge Aggragami at home and that should be to their advantage too. Tollygunge go into this tie with a loss at the hands of Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills, at Kolkata.
Indian Telephone Industries are the only side in the cellar sides to be assured of a berth in the NFL and though they played out an insipid draw against JCT, even a loss to Mohun Bagan would not harm their cause.
Air-India, lost to SBT in an away tie and need to win Vasco and also hope that Salgaocar do not lose to JCT in Ludhiana to remain in the 6th NFL. SBT, who have done well at home, can be expected to pull the stops on East Bengal.

Round 22:
No hiccups for East Bengal in the final round. Needing to win against State Bank of Travancore in the final and 22nd round of the 5th NFL, the red and golden brigade just did that. Win 2-0 and that ensured they finish one point ahead of their arch rivals Mohun Bagan who too defeated Indian Telephone Industries by a similar margin in their final match.
East Bengal were keen that they do something to honour the memory of their deceased secretary, Dipak Kumar Das. In fact their players had sworn they would win the title. There some minor bumps on the way, especially as the side failed to win the 18th and 19th rounds against Mohun Bagan and Vasco. But they came back with resounding fashion against FC Kochin to win 3-0 in the 21st and that quite set the tone.
SBT are tricky customers in their home ground at Thiruvananthapuram but two good strikes by Omolaja Olalekan was enough for East Bengal.
Just as it was a straight contest for the top two places, it was for the third and fourth too. And Churchill Bros downed FC Kochin to finish third to add to the 2nd, 9th, 3rd and 2nd finishes in the previous years. Though Kochin led by an Aaron Cole goal, Churchill struck back through Igor Shkvrin, Abhishek Yadav and Ajay Singh.
From positions fifth to 10th, there was a close contest on as most teams were in the 20 points region or on the periphery. At the end, all 12 teams crossed 20 points, but Air-India's 21 and SBT's 20 were not enough to help them retain their berths for the 6th NFL.
Air-India beat Vasco 2-1, with the matchwinner coming in added-on time, in a superb game but JCT beat Salgaocar in Ludhiana and that ensured that Vasco finish ahead of their Goan statemates.
On April 29, Mahindra United, who had a chance to finish fifth and they could well have for the results on the next day were to their liking, played out a drudgery with the master of drawn encounters, Tollygunge Aggragami that saw the Mumbai outfit finish seventh and the third force of Kolkata a place behind them.
One team to rejoice even though they lost were Indian Telephone Industries. They ended on the wrong side of a 0-2 result against Mohun Bagan but the 22 points saw them nose ahead of Air-India and State Bank of Travancore.