Football
How ATK Mohun Bagan turned around: Key Points from their triumph over Bashundhara Kings
ATK Mohun Bagan overturned their opening day loss, as the team registered a thumping 4-0 victory over cross-border rivals Bashundhara Kings.
ATK Mohun Bagan goalscorer Liston Colaco with Roy Krishna (Source: ATK Mohun Bagan/Twitter)
ATK Mohun Bagan overturned their opening day loss, as the team registered a thumping 4-0 victory over cross-border rivals Bashundhara Kings. 23-year-old scored his maiden hat-trick for the Green and Maroon side while Mumbai City FC linked, super-sub David Williams scored the final nail in the coffin. While this job was as mammoth as seemed to be, the weather conditions made it way more difficult. However, Juan Ferrando and co. got better of both in a style.
Although ATK Mohun Bagan delivered an all-round dominating performance, we at The Bridge picked out some key points that bolstered the victory in favour of the Kolkata Giants.
An interesting lineup
With two important players, central defender Tiri and Hugo Boumous out with respective injuries, Juan Ferrando had to make the best with the team available. Ferrando took a huge risk when he paired a not-completely fit Sandesh Jhingan along with Pritam Kotal. However, the coach's approach seemed to work as the defensive midfield duo of Deepak Tangri and Carl McHugh added to the defensive strength of the team. As for the attack, Joni Kauko was in an unreal form, playing the most pivotal part in the supply line.
Liston Colaco's consistency
Liston Colaco played one of his most important games for ATK Mohun Bagan against Bashundhara Kings. The 23-year-old found his maiden hat-trick for the outfit in just '30' minutes despite missing some early goals. Colaco took a close to perfect freekick in about the 9th minute, however, the brewing storm put the game on hold. However, on being asked about his consistency since the Indian Super League and the reason, Colaco stated how the availability of game time in the Kolkata outfit has helped to bring out the best in him.
Arsh Anwer's performance
Although ATK Mohun Bagan played with a stout defence, young custodian Arsh Anwer played an important role in the Mariners' win. While players like Robson D Silva kept testing him, Arsh denied the Bashundhara attempts quite a number of times in helping ATK Mohun Bagan maintain their cushion. However, the wastefulness upfront by the Bengal Premier League Champions also added to the ease of the keeper. While Amrinder Singh has been fantastic for the Green and Maroon outfit it was a bold decision from the coach to sit him down replacing him with Arsh who has played him off well.
Interestingly, coach Juan Ferrando resonates his reason for success with fans. In the post-match conference, the coach revealed how watching the fans at the stadium despite the brewing storm gave them the motivation to do something for the people. While Liston claimed his motivation to have come through critical comments received on the internet following the Gokulam Kerala loss.
With Maziya SR claiming a narrow victory over Gokulam Kerala FC late that day, the Group D was forced open with all the teams having fair chances at qualifying with the decision coming onto the final day where Gokulam Kerala FC take Bashundhara Kings while ATK Mohun Bagan play Maziya SR
