Goals from Liston Colaco and Roy Krishna help ATK Mohun Bagan sink Goa

ATK Mohun Bagan handed Goa a 2-1 defeat in ‘Match 44’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Fatorda Stadium. Liston Colaco and Roy Krishna were on target for the Mariners while Jorge Ortiz reduced the deficit for the Gaurs.

Having started his ATK Mohun Bagan stint with a 3-2 win over NorthEast United, Juan Ferrando opted for an unchanged starting XI for this clash. 

On the other hand, Goa head coach Derrick Pereira made three changes to the team that drew 1-1 against Odisha. Spanish striker Ortiz returned to the starting XI after his two-game suspension while Dylan Fox returned in the three-man backline. To maintain overseas count, midfield general Edu Bedia had to make way for the Indian youngster Muhammad Nemil.

The Gaurs had a promising start and could have taken the lead in the 5th minute when Nemil found himself at the end of a freekick but the young midfielder dragged his shot wide. Devendra Murgaonkar had a crack at the goal only three minutes later, but his effort was well saved by the Mariners custodian Amrinder Singh.

Nemil missed another glorious opportunity in the 20th minute when he failed to tuck home a fantastic cross from Seriton Fernandes. Pereira’s team had the pay the price of all these missed chances when ATK Mohun Bagan opened the scoring against the run of play.

Colaco received a ball near the halfway line down the left flank and launched a sensational knuckle shot despite being a long distance away from the goal. The swerve on the ball outfoxed Dheeraj Singh in the Goa goal and rippled the back of the net. With this goal, Colaco overtook Sahal Abdul Samad in the race for the leading Indian goal-scorer.

The Gaurs had a chance to retaliate almost immediately when Murgaonkar earned a foul on the left flank. Ortiz’s free-kick went over the wall and was heading to the bottom right corner but Amrinder made a commendable save to safeguard the lead for the Mariners.

Goa had a golden opportunity of scoring very early in the second phase as Ortiz whipped in an enticing cross for an unmarked Fernandes who failed to get any power on his header hardly two minutes after the resumption of play.

For the second time on the night, the Gaurs had to rue their missed chances as the Mariners doubled their lead in the 56th minute. Pereira’s defenders failed to clear a Hugo Boumous corner and the ball eventually landed kindly for Krishna whose powerful shot made it 2-0 for last season’s runners-up.

Jorge Ortiz’s goal was nothing more than a mere consolation

The 2019-20 league phase winners finally scored the elusive goal in the 82nd minute – not particularly because of their brilliance but because of a goalkeeping howler by Amrinder. Ortiz received the ball at the edge of the box and pulled the trigger but his shot had no power and was directed straight at the ATK Mohun Bagan keeper who made an absolute mess of it to keep the match alive.

However, as it turned out, Ortiz’s strike was nothing more than a mere consolation for Goa on another tough evening in the ongoing league season. ‘

ATK Mohun Bagan has leapfrogged both Jamshedpur and Kerala in the standings with this victory and is currently occupying the third position. Their next assignment is against a high-flying Hyderabad on 5th January while the eighth-placed Goa will take on the in-form Kerala Blasters on 2nd January.