Durand Cup 2022: ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC play out exciting draw

ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) and Mumbai City FC (MCFC) played out an exciting 1-1 draw in a Group B 131st IndianOil Durand Cup clash, at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK). Liston Colaco drew first blood for the green and maroons in the first half, only to see that effort cancelled out by Argentine striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz, in the second. MCFC now have four points from two games while ATKMB has picked up their first, after going down to Rajasthan United in their first game.

The ATKMB coach Juan Ferrando effected four changes in his starting eleven, including keeper Vishal Kaith in goal in place of Arsh Shaikh, who had started the first match. Des Buckingham, the MCFC gaffer made just the one, bringing in Ahmed Jahouh to start in place of Pereyra Diaz.

The match started at a ferocious pace with ATKMB doing most of the attacking in the first 20 minutes of the first half.

The goal came in the 40th minute. It started with Florentin Pogba in the middle of the park who controlled the ball with some skill to shrug off two MCFC challengers and passed square to his left to Deepak Tangri. The Indian Arrows product found Frenchman Boumous over on the right flank who spotted the run of Ashish Rai inside the box and played him on. Ashish's strike on target was saved by Lachenpa, but Liston was at hand and bulged the rebound into the roof of the Mumbai net.

Des Buckingham's third substitute, Pereyra Diaz, brought on in the 68th minute in place of Moroccan Ahmed Jahouh, was the one that brought him dividends. In fact both the subs combined as Stalin, played out wide on the right, delivered a first-time floater in the box and found the Argentine unmarked. He headed down to wrong-foot the keeper and MCFC were levels.

Ferrando then tried everything to get a winner, bringing in Lenny Rodriguez and Pronoy Halder for Deepak Tangri and Hugo Boumous. In the 86th minute, he brought on Hnamte for the hard-working Ashish Rai as a final throw of the dice. But besides a Manvir header in the 90th minute, off a Pritam Kotal cross, there was not much purchase.