ATK Mohun Bagan cruised to its fifth successive Kolkata Derby victory as the Mariners defeated East Bengal 2-0 in their Indian Super League (ISL) match on Saturday. Juan Ferrando’s side climbs to the fourth spot on the table and are as many points off the top with a game in hand. East Bengal’s third loss of the season sees them remain in eighth place.
The first Kolkata derby in the Indian Super League played in front of a sold out Salt Lake stadium was a spectacle not to miss. Although the green and maroon half of Kolkata will be the happier of the two commuting of what one may expect to notice in the City of Joy over the next few days at least.
ATK Mohun Bagan 2-0 East Bengal
Juan Ferrando made just one change to the ATK Mohun Bagan side that sunk KBFC in Kochi with Subhasish Bose replacing Ashique Kuruniyan on the left flank as they switched to a 4-3-3. Stephen Constantine fielded the same eleven that had nabbed all three points against NEUFC in Guwahati.
n the opening ten minutes of this high-octane contest, ATK Mohun Bagan looked menacing. Bose came close as his shot flashed across the goal and out of play. East Bengal almost got their noses in front in the 16th minute, but Thongkhosiem Haokip’s header from Naorem Singh’s cross was parried to safety by Vishal Kaith.
It was comparatively a much more competitive encounter in the first half, but a goalkeeping error by Kamaljit Singh changed the course of the game as Hugo Boumous’ (56′) strike was followed by another one by Manvir Singh (65′) to eventually hand the Mariners a comfortable win.
The East Bengal goalkeeper had no where to hide after conceding off a routine looking Boumous shot from distance. The 26-year-old tried to scoop the ball instead of at least putting his body behind the straight forward shot on goal. Singh was low on confidence for the second goal, although there is nothing he could have done of the deflection.
In the 68th minute, Kaith was quick to deny O’Doherty’s powerful long-range effort. Minutes later, Eliandro dos Santos came on for Ivan Gonzalez and muscled through the ATKMB defence. He played a sublime pass towards Cleiton Silva before the attack was thwarted by the Mariners’ substitute Lenny Rodrigues, summing up East Bengal’s day.
ATK Mohun Bagan asserted their superiority over fierce cross-town rivals East Bengal in the ISL as they made it five wins out of five in India’s top-level competition. The victory lifts ATK Mohun Bagan to fourth position. They are four points off the top with a game in hand. The Mariners will travel to the west coast to face Mumbai City FC in their next match on November 6. After losing the derby, East Bengal FC remain in eighth place. They will host Chennaiyin FC on November 4.
