Manvir Singh’s heroics helps ATK Mohun Bagan sink Goa
ATK Mohun Bagan rode on a Manvir Singh brace to trump Goa 2-0 in ‘Match 92’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season. This was the third win on the bounce for the Mariners as they stretched their unbeaten run to eleven games.
ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando only made a single change to his starting XI with Sandesh Jhingan getting his first start after rejoining the club in the winter transfer window, replacing Ashutosh Mehta. On the other hand, Goa head coach Juan Ferrando brought in Dylan Fox to replace last match’s hero Aiban Dohling, while Glan Martins replaced Edu Garcia in midfield.
The Mariners got an early lead in the third minute from a move that started with Fox clearing a delivery from Prabir Das at the cost of a corner. Liston Colaco delivered a curling cross from the corner at the first post and Manvir glanced the ball with his head to send it past Dheeraj Singh in the Gaurs’ goal.
Eight minutes later, Colaco got one more chance as he drove through with the ball before pulling the trigger from distance, but the ball was just a whisker away from the target.
Goa’s first chance came in the 14th minute when Makan Chothe delivered a blazing cross from the right flank that went across the face of the goal, but there were no orange shirts present to tuck the ball in.
They missed another gilt-edged chance only a couple of minutes later when an ATK Mohun Bagan player gave the ball away cheaply in a dangerous area and Jorge Ortiz found himself through on goal, but in an act of unnecessary selflessness, he passed the ball to a teammate who has in a better position but the pass was intercepted by Tiri. The Spaniard did go for glory himself four minutes later but his curling effort from distance was just inches away from finding the back of the net.
The second half started exactly like the first half as Manvir doubled his and his team’s goal tally only one minute after the resumption. A brilliant move from the Green and Maroons saw Lenny Rodrigues intercepting a pass from Princeton Rebello before placing a perfectly-weighted through ball towards Manvir, who went round Dheeraj to make the scoreline 2-0.
Five minutes later, Liston and Manvir combined again as the former sent in a beautiful ball for the latter, but the 26-year-old missed the opportunity as his shot was well blocked by the Gaurs’ custodian.
Manvir Singh was the star of the night for the Mariners
Around the hour mark, Joni Kauko got the ball in a great area and released Manvir on the right flank, who then made a darting run. However, just as when he was about to pull the trigger, a slide tackle from behind by Ivan Gonzalez stopped in his tracks. There were appeals of penalty but referee Crystal John did not pay much heed to it.
The 26-year-old from Punjab got another chance at the 76th minute but laid a pass towards an onrushing Liston. The youngster, however, could not control the ball properly and ended up playing a backpass to Manvir, who then did launch a shot but it was blocked by the orange shirts. Liston also attempted an audacious Olympic goal but the crossbar denied him his moment of glory.
With this defeat, the ninth-placed Goa will have to win all their last three matches to give themselves an outside chance for a semi-final spot. The Gaurs will face league leaders Hyderabad on Saturday, while the second-placed ATK Mohun Bagan will take on Kerala Blasters on the same date.