Colaco, Krishna Shine As ATK Mohun Bagan Beat FC Goa
ATK Mohun Bagan captain and Fijian striker Roy Krishna signed with relieve after his side beat FC Goa 2-1 in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday.
Liston Colaco’s thunderbolt stole the show on a night Roy Krishna also found the target to make Juan Ferrando’s return to familiar territory a sweet one.
It was Krishna’s fifth goal of the season, the highest by any Indian this term.
Krishna (56th) made it 2-0 early on in the second half before Jorge Ortiz fortuitously pulled one back in the 81st minute but it was not enough in the end.
The result means ATKMB continued their resurgence under coach Ferrando, moving to third in the points table with 14 points from eight matches.
FC Goa remain eighth having the same number of points from eight games.
The impressive Devendra Murgaonkar warmed Singh’s gloves with an early attempt after nutmegging his marker and getting the better of him to shoot on goal. Singh saw the ball all the way and had it
covered.
ATKMB, though, were enjoying the lion’s share of possession and got their reward in the 23rd minute albeit a moment of individual brilliance.
The sparkling Colaco, causing all sorts of trouble to Goa for some time, got on the ball on the left inside channel near the halfway mark.
The 23-year-old took a couple of steps forward to then unleash a rocket of a hit that swerved past the keeper and into the back of the net.
Ferrando had his hands on his head in disbelief, his mouth wide open as the green and maroons went ahead riding that piece of magic.
At the half-hour mark, Jorge Ortiz forced Singh into a good save from a freekick but the half had already gone to Liston for his wonderful strike, and deservingly ATKMB went into the break with a 1-0 lead. The Mariners doubled their advantage soon after the restart, Krishna firing home first time a Hugo Boumous lob from the edge of the box.
Goa never really got a grip of the game after falling behind by two goals before a Singh gaffe helped them get back in the game.
Ortiz’s weak left-footer was inexplicably spilled by Singh as the ball went into the net.
Goa threw in the towel but ATKMB held firm and bagged three points following the win.
After the match, Krishna said, “I’m very pleased that we got another win and be able to get back on the scoresheet.
“I feel that there’s better communication on the field and players are trying to prove their worth more.”
“We will need to sharpen in a few areas but we are definitely getting better,” he added.
“Towards the end of the match I think we relaxed a bit and we lost focus and it cost us a goal, this is something we will have to work on so we can do better next time.
“It would have been good to have a clean sheet but I will take the three points. We are now third on the current ISL standings and it’s good to be back in the top four.”