ATK Mohun Bagan returned to the top four in the Indian Super League (ISL) after a 2-1 win over FC Goa at the PJN stadium in Margao, Goa on Wednesday.
Liston Colaco (23’) and Roy Krishna (56’) put ATK Mohun Bagan in charge of the match but Jorge Ortiz (81’) pulled one back to set up a grandstand finish. The Mariners though held on to register their second straight win in the ISL.
It was a slow start to the match with both teams cancelling each other out in the opening exchanges. However, it was FC Goa who carved out the first opening from a quickly taken free-kick. Muhammed Nemil was picked out inside the box, the youngster then shot on a quick turn but his effort went just wide of the target in the 5th minute.
The Mariners got into the game after the tenth minute and began bossing possession. They tried their luck from distance on a few occasions but didn’t succeed. Eventually it needed an absolutely stunning long-range strike from Colaco to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute. The top Indian goalscorer in the ISL unleashed a strike from around 25 yards out that dipped late to beat Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem in the FC Goa goal.
FC Goa almost produced a perfect response seven minutes later when Ortiz fired a free-kick that threatened to sneak in but Amrinder Singh was alert enough to push that away.
The Mariners saw Subhasish Bose being replaced by Prabir Das in the 37th minute due to injury but managed to hold onto the lead going into the interval.
FC Goa conjured up the first opportunity of the second half through a set-piece as Seriton Fernandes headed a cross from Ortiz wide despite getting a free shot at goal two minutes from the restart.
ATK Mohun Bagan though made the most of their opportunity at the other end in the 56th minute when Hugo Boumous found Krishna totally free inside the box with a cross that evaded the majority of players to reach the Fijian. Krishna then drilled it first time to find the bottom corner and double the Mariners’ advantage.
FC Goa got back into the game nine minutes from time when Amrinder Singh fluffed a routine shot from Ortiz that eventually sneaked into the net to make it 2-1.
The Gaurs pushed hard for an equaliser as ATK Mohun Bagan retreated deep in their own half but Derrick Pereira’s men couldn’t get the crucial goal.
The win pushed Juan Ferrando’s side into third place while his former team stayed eighth.
The Mariners will return to action on January 5 when they face second-placed Hyderabad FC. FC Goa on the other hand take on Kerala Blasters FC on Sunday.