CHENNAI: ATK Mohun Bagan came up with an all-round performance to hand Bengaluru FC their first defeat in this season of the ISL, at Fatorda Stadium on Monday. David Williams’ first-half strike proved to be the difference between the sides as the Kolkata club secured their fifth win in seven matches to remain in second place. Bengaluru lie third.
ATK Mohun Bagan adopted a different style, early on. Previously, they were happy to sit back, but on Monday they took the game to Bengaluru, which might have also caught the latter off guard. It was a contest where they did not allow Bengaluru much space with the ball.
ATK Mohun Bagan looked sharper. Their opponents were giving the ball away. Most of the early exchanges took place in the Bengaluru half and Mohun Bagan could not convert their half chances in the first 30 minutes. But they threatened to score moving forward. In Williams, Roy Krishna and Manvir Singh, they always had runners up front and the trio created problems for the Bengaluru defenders.
Immediately after the first drinks break, Mohun Bagan took the lead with Williams sending a wonderful curler into the top right corner in the 33rd minute. It was not only the Australian's first of the season, it was also his team's maiden first-half goal in 2020-21. They deserved the lead for the kind of domination they enjoyed until then.
The problem for Bengaluru was their inability to penetrate in the final third. If they had to take anything out of the contest, Bengaluru had to up their game. With that in mind, they brought in Suresh Wangjam for Udanta Singh at the start of the second half. But Antonio Habas's men looked superior in the second half too and threatened to double the lead.
Carles Cuadrat sensed the need to bring in fresh legs and made a triple substitution. Kristian Opseth, Francisco Gonzalez and Leon Augustin were on the pitch. Their first substitution nearly worked as Suresh squared a ball to Cleiton Silva, who failed to score from close in the 73rd minute. That was one of the best chances they had in the game.
Though Bengaluru gave it their all in the last 20 minutes to find the equaliser, they failed. One also has to applaud Mohun Bagan’s defence, which stood firm throughout the contest.