ATK Mohun Bagan beat FC Goa 2-1 at the Fatorda on Wednesday night to climb up to third in the Indian Super League table. Juan Ferrando won against his old side, courtesy of two stunning goals by Liston Colaco and Roy Krishna.
Ferrando left FC Goa two weeks earlier to join ATK Mohun Bagan, replacing stalwart Antonio Habas after he was let go after a poor run of results. On Wednesday night, at the Fatorda, the Spaniard faced his old side with his new one and proved why ATKMB had agreed to pay the big bucks to snatch him away from Goa. A 2-1 win over the Gaurs took the Mariners up to third in the league table – and left the former dangerously close to the bottom.
Goa started the game on top. A fizzed ball into the feet of Muhammed Nemil by Jorge Ortiz created the first opportunity of the match, as the youngster turned sharply before firing narrowly wide from the edge of the box. 19 minutes in, the electric Nemil tried his luck again from distance, but his shot took a deflection and fell mercifully straight into the hands of Amrinder Singh.
Hugo Boumous nearly squeezed a shot in at the near post but for a crucial block by Devendra Murgaonkar, whose touch took it just wide of the post. A minute later, as the clock confirmed half of the first half played, Liston Colaco opened the scoring for the Mariners with a sensational strike from distance.
The youngster collected a loose ball in the final third, drifted inside, and beat Dheeraj Singh with a thunderous effort into the top corner.
Roy Krishna doubled ATKMB’s lead in the 56th minute, connecting sweetly with a Boumous delivery from a corner. Left completely unmarked at the edge of the box, the Fiji international lashed his volley past Dheeraj.
Ortiz pulled a goal back for Goa in the 81st minute, thanks largely to Amrinder, who fumbled the ball over the line despite the shot being straight at him. Nonetheless, the Mariners held onto their narrow lead for the remainder of the match.
