Chennaiyin extend unbeaten run with a 1-1 draw against ATK Mohun Bagan
Chennaiyin and ATK Mohun Bagan played out a 1-1 draw in ‘Match 25’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Fatorda Stadium on Saturday with Liston Colaco and Vladimir Koman finding the back of the nets to restore parity before half-time.
ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Antonio Lopez Habas once again made wholesale changes to his starting XI from the 2-1 defeat against Jamshedpur as Sumit Rathi made way for the experienced Tiri in central defense. Deepak Tangri replaced Lenny Rodrigues after completing his suspension and Liston Colaco replaced Carl McHugh as Habas reverted to the 4-4-2 formation.
On the other hand, Chennaiyin head coach Bozidar Bandovic made a couple of changes to his starting line-up from the 0-0 draw against East Bengal. Edwin Vanspaul and Lukasz Gikiewicz were handed their first starts of the ongoing ISL season as Mirlan Murzaev and Rahim Ali were relegated to the bench.
The two teams started the game on a cautious note with neither team managing to have clear attempts at goal up until the 18th minute. ATK Mohun Bagan went ahead through a quality Colaco finish as he latched on to a defense-splitting ball from Roy Krishna and smashed the ball into the roof of the net past the helpless Vishal Kaith.
Skipper Anirudh Thapa created the first major goal-scoring opportunity for Chennaiyin in the 21st minute as he delivered in a low cross into the ATK Mohun Bagan box from the right. The ball bobbled off Tiri and Amrinder Singh parried it away to Vanspaul whose shot was somehow cleared off the line by Subashish Bose to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
In the 29th minute, Thapa missed a golden opportunity to level things up as he was set up on a platter by a Lallianzuala Chhangte ball but a timely challenge from Bose in the last moment helped the ball go behind for a corner.
Vladimir Koman celebrates the goal with his Chennaiyin teammates
At the cusp of half-time, Koman pounced on a loose ball before firing a low shot from the edge of the Chennaiyin box to make it 1-1. The ball went past five ATK Mohun Bagan defenders due to sheer pace as Amrinder Singh made a futile effort in an attempt to save the shot.
The second half started like the first period of play as a few scruffy shots and a cagey match were in store for the viewers. From a corner, the ball fell to Joni Kauko but the Finnish midfielder somehow fired the ball over the Chennaiyin goal from point-blank range in the 61st minute.
Vanspaul was next into action as his long-range effort went inches wide off the target after Anirudh Thapa set him up for the shot in the 66th minute. The final quarter of the match was once again a cagey affair as no team managed to get a clear-cut scoring opportunity with the game ending in a stalemate.
Chennaiyin remains the only unbeaten side in the league so far with the 1-1 draw while ATK Mohun Bagan’s winless run extended to three games. Bozidar Bandovic’s men go to third in the ISL standings with eight points from four matches while ATK Mohun Bagan stays sixth in the table.
Up next, Chennaiyin plays against reigning champions Mumbai City on Wednesday with ATK Mohun Bagan all set to renew their old rivalry with Bengaluru on Thursday.