ATK Mohun Bagan mark the start of Juan Ferrando era with a 3-2 win over NorthEast United

4 years AGO
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Juan Ferrando’s tactics worked out well in his first match as ATK Mohun Bagan head coach

ATK Mohun Bagan came from behind to win 3-2 against NorthEast United at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday as the Juan Ferrando era kicked off with vigor and valor. 

An early goal from VP Suhair pegged the Mariners back while Liston Colaco scored the equalizer for the Green and Maroons. A second-half brace from Hugo Boumous was enough to help ATK Mohun Bagan to bag all three points with the late Mashoor Shareef goal proving to be nothing more than a mere consolation.

Khalid Jamil played his usual formation but brought back Spanish central defender Hernan Santana in the starting XI. For the Mariners, Ferrando opted for his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with Carl McHugh making it to the starting XI ahead of Joni Kauko who had the backing of former manager Antonio Lopez Habas.

Mohun Bagan conceded a goal in only the second minute of the match as Matheus Coreur’s inch-perfect delivery from a free-kick found VP Suhair unchallenged in the box who calmly headed it home to hand Jamil’s team an early lead.

Ferrando’s men could have given the ideal reply had Manvir Singh converted the easiest chance of the game. The Indian attacker found himself unmarked with plenty of space and time to slot it past Mirshad Michu in the Highlanders’ goal but he blasted his shot way over the bar from a point-blank range.

Hardly three minutes later, Roy Krishna almost restored parity but was denied by brave goalkeeping from the NorthEast United custodian. ATK Mohun Bagan had the lion’s share of possession since going down early on with Colaco causing Jamil’s backline quite a few problems.

However, the Highlanders almost doubled their lead when Rochharzela came up with a brilliant long-range effort but his shot was well anticipated and saved by Amrinder Singh in the ATK Mohun Bagan goal.

The Mariners’ constant pressure and the persistent attacking moves paid dividends when Krishna floated a ball in for Colaco just before the half-time break and the winger’s sublime header helped him get his team back in the game.

Jamil injected fresh legs in the second half introducing Joe Zoherliana and Laldanmawia Ralte to provide more width and creativity to NorthEast’s gameplay. The substitutions almost worked for the I-League winning manager as Zoherliana created a guilt-edged opportunity for Mapuia but the 29-year-old failed to hit the target from handshaking distance.

Hugo Boumous was on target twice for the Mariners

Hugo Boumous was on target twice for the Mariners

The mistakes eventually came back to haunt the Guwahati-based team when Boumous registered his name on the scoresheet in the 53rd-minute. The move started with a Krishna through ball for Colaco, whose effort was cleared by Zoherliana. Full-back Subhasish Bose collected the loose ball and wriggled past two defenders before squaring to Boumous who slotted it past Michu quite elegantly.

Kauko was eventually introduced in the 64th-minute and he proved his mettle to his new manager by having an instantaneous impact contributing to the third goal for the Mariners. The Finnish midfielder orchestrated a counterattack and played a delightful through ball for Boumous who chipped his effort home even before Mirshad could even react.

In the dying minutes of the game, the Highlanders did pull one back after a rebound from a freekick landed kindly for the substitute Shareef who drilled his shot through the legs of the Mariners custodian.

Having jumped to the fifth spot on the 2021-22 Indian Super League standings, ATK Mohun Bagan will now take on Goa next Wednesday while NorthEast United will be up against league leaders Mumbai City on Monday.