Odisha plays party-spoilers by restricting ATK Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 stalemate
Having already been eliminated from the semi-final race, Odisha played party-spoilers for ATK Mohun Bagan by restricting them to a 1-1 draw in ‘Match 100’ 2021-22 Indian Super League season. Redeem Tlang opened the scoring for the Kalinga Warriors whilst Joni Kauko’s penalty helped the Mariners get back in the game.
Odisha’s interim head coach Kino Garcia made three changes to the team that lost 2-1 against Bengaluru. Sebastian Thangmuansang came in for Lalruatthara in defense, whereas Redeem and Aridai Cabrera replaced Nandhakumar Sekar and Jonathas respectively in the attack.
On the other hand, ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando made only one change to his starting XI after a 2-2 stalemate against Kerala Blasters. Having recovered from his injury, Hugo Boumous was handed a start at David Williams’ expense.
Almost everyone expected the Mariners to dominate the proceedings from the first minute but surprisingly, it was Odisha who drew first blood in the 5th minute. Jerry Mawihmingthanga delivered a low cross from the right flank with Aridai being the intended target, and while the Spaniard could not reach it, Redeem did and tucked it past Amrinder Singh in the ATK Mohun Bagan goal.
However, they could not preserve their lead for long as Sahil Panwar conceded a cheap penalty in the very next minute, bringing Hugo Boumous down inside the box. Kauko took the responsibility on his shoulders and like he did the last match, the Finnish midfielder scored the equalizer for Ferrando’s team.
The Kalinga Warriors got a penalty themselves in the 22nd minute, but this decision was certainly questionable from referee Aditya Purkayastha. Aridai claimed he was brought inside the box by his countryman Tiri, but replays clearly showed the Mariners’ defender kicking the ball and not the player. However, justice was served as a former ATK Mohun Bagan player in Javi Hernandez failed to do what Kauko did, with Amrinder being the savior for last season’s runners-up.
Aridai was heavily involved once again in the 37th minute when a long ball from the deep found himself through on goal with only Amrinder to beat, and though he did well to round off the keeper, his heavy touch made the angle too acute to go for glory. The former RCD Mallorca player did well to cut in back for Redeem, whose shot was blocked by a white shirt.
The second half had a pretty sedate start, but things opened up in the last fifteen minutes of the game. Deepak Tangri pulled the trigger in the 79th minute and Odisha custodian Kamaljit Singh failed to gather in cleanly, given the sheer power behind the strike. Though one of two ATK Mohun Bagan players were lurking inside the box, Hector Rodas got to the ball and cleared it before they could react.
The Kalinga Warriors had a gilt-edged chance in the 89th minute when Aridai darted down the left flank before putting a pass on a platter for substitute Liridon Krasniqi, whose shot stayed out after hitting the crossbar.
Roy Krishna received marching orders in the dying minutes of the match
It could have proven to be costly as the Mariners then put their foot on the accelerator and came agonizingly close to netting a winner barely a minute later. Kolkata Derby hero Kiyan Nassiri delivered a low cross from the right flank which found Manvir Singh but the attacker’s shot was blocked by the combined efforts of Sebastian and Kamaljit. To make matters worse for Ferrando, Roy Krishna was shown his second yellow card and handed marching orders in the dying minutes of the game for a reckless tackle on substitute Nandhakumar.
With this draw, ATK Mohun Bagan is placed in the third position in the standings and will take on Bengaluru on Sunday, whereas seventh-placed Odisha will call curtains to their 2021-22 campaign with a game against Jamshedpur next Friday.