ISL 2020-21: ATK Mohun Bagan scrape past FC Goa as Roy Krishna scores again

Roy Krishna scored his fifth goal of the season as ATK Mohun Bagan went 1-0 past FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) tonight. In what was an end-to-end affair at the Fatorda, the only goal of the match came in the 85th minute after Aiban Dohling’s mistimed tackle inside the box gave the Mariners a penalty.

https://twitter.com/FCGoaOfficial/status/1339244820431171585

It was a cagey first half. The initial few minutes saw neither side create any clear cut chances. However, it was Mohun Bagan who had the upper hand as they did not allow FC Goa to play their natural passing game. They pressed high and did not let Goa play out from the back. The Gaurs had to resort to playing long balls and as a result, Igor Angulo was cutting an isolated figure upfront. Jayesh Rane was the leader of the pack, as he closed down defenders and squeezed the space in front of them at will. At one point he made a 40-yard run from midfield to close down Mohammad Nawaz in goal and almost induced a mistake from him.

The first genuine chance of the match came in the 40th minute and was down to some incredible individual work from David Williams. A long Carl McHugh diagonal was brought down beautifully by the Australian. He then turned inside with his second touch and unleashed a powerful shot past Nawaz which unfortunately hit the bar. The second half started on a similar note. In the 51st minute, Pronay Halder’s attempt from deep went just over after Nawaz had left his goal open and scuffed his shot under pressure from Krishna. Goa responded with a headed attempt from Alberto Noguera which went straight to Arindam Bhattacharjee in goal.

https://twitter.com/IndSuperLeague/status/1339243247953010690

Brandon Fernandes introduction in the second half brought about a bit more urgency in Goa’s attack as they started getting the ball to dangerous areas. It was McHugh who was decisive soon after as his last-ditch tackle on Noguera stopped him from unleashing a shot at goal. Then he again did his defensive duty when he leant on Jorge Ortiz to put him off after he was through on goal. Finally, Antonio Habas’ men had their moment when Krishna was cut down to size by a mistimed tackle by Aiban Dohling inside the box. The Fijian converted coolly from the spot (1-0). Then in the dying seconds of the game, Saviour Gama’s attempted shot from afar was saved by Arindam Bhattacharjee. From the resulting corner, Edu Garcia’s header almost gave Goa the equaliser but it just wasn’t meant to be.

With this win, the Mariners go 2nd in the table behind Mumbai City on goal difference. Their next three matches are against Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United. FC Goa are 6th and face Chennaiyin FC next before visiting Jamshedpur FC.