Bhaichung at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Mohun Bagan seem to have learnt nothing from their back-to-back losses in the first two matches, being held to a 1-1 draw with Sporting Clube de Goa in the ONGC I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.

Jose Ramirez Barreto put the home team ahead in the 46th minute while Obagbemiro Klijah restored parity 10 minutes later.

The draw finally helped Mohun Bagan open their account following losses to Viva Kerala and JCT. Sporting also went down to Dempo and Churchill Brothers in their first two outings.

Without Shanmugam Venkatesh, Mohun Bagan lacked co-ordination in the midfield and, quite naturally, Bhaichung Bhutia and Barreto didn’t get enough opportunities upfront.

The Goan outfit, conversely, relied on counter-attacks, taking advantage of Mohun Bagan midfield’s ill-disciplined display.

Sporting’s only foreign recruit Obagbemiro Klijah could have made the difference, had he got enough assistance from his fellow teammates.

Man of the Match Barreto gave Mohun Bagan the lead shooting home from a Douglas da Silva floater soon after the break, but their joy was short-lived as Sporting levelled through Klijah. The foreigner — after getting the ball from Joseph Perreira — dodged a defender before slotting home in a clinical finish.

TEAMS

Mohun Bagan: Shilton Paul, Habibur Rahman Mondal, Sanjeev Maria, Peter Siddiqui, Mohan Raj, Anit Ghosh (Dharamjit Singh 58), Douglas da Silva, Lalkamal Bhowmick, Ishfaq Ahmed, Bhaichung Bhutia, Jose Ramirez Barreto.

Sporting Clube de Goa: Felix D’Souza, C. Chandrasekhar, Carlos Fernandez, Felip Gomes, Franco Denzil, Harmanjot Khabra, Lobo Cavin (Bishweswar Singh 87), Micky Fernandez, Joseph Perreira, Freddy Mascarenhas (Bibiano Fernandez 52), Obagbemiro Klijah.

Referee: T. Pradeep Kumar.