ATK Mohun Bagan won the Kolkata Derby against SC East Bengal 3-1 at the Fatorda. This meant that the Mariners have won in their last five games.
Roy Krishna opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Then a Tiri’s own goal before half-time meant the score was level at the break. Then in the second half, David Williams put the Mariners 2-1 up and Javi scored in the final minutes to give Mohun Bagan a convincing victory.
When the two sides last met, the 3-times champions won 2-0. Also, after Friday’s win, the Mohun Bagan’s league double over East Bengal is completed.
Mohun Bagan remain top of the table with their lead extending to 5-points. Whereas, East Bengal stay at the ninth spot with one win in 8 games.
ATK Mohun Bagan 3-1 SC East Bengal Team News:
Antonio Habas played the 3-4-3 formation he played with earlier this season. Arindam was at goal. Then Pritam, Sandesh, and Tiri completed the defence. In the middle, Lenny and McHugh played as the central midfielders. Manvir Singh, who scored in the reverse fixture and Subhasish Bose played as wide midfielders. Marcelinho, David Williams, and Krishna played up front with the players switching positions to cause problems.
On the other hand, East Bengal’s assistant coach Tony Grant started with a 3-4-1-2 formation. Their head coach Robbie Fowler is still serving his ban so Grant took charge of the team. Subrata Paul started in goal. Then in the defence, Sarthak, Raju Gaikwad, and Danny Fox started in defence. Sourav Das and Maghoma started at the heart of midfield. Ankit and Narayan played as wide midfielders. Steinmann played as a number 10 behind Bright and Pilkington.
ATK Mohun Bagan 3-1 SC East Bengal Analysis:
ATK Mohun Bagan started the game in the front foot. They attacked from the beginning. They got their reward after 15 minutes. Tiri sent a long ball over the top of East Bengal’s defence. Roy Krishna collected the ball and after three touches it was a goal.
Then chances for Marcelinho and Krishna did not lead to goals. The Brazilian’s shot was saved by Subrata and Krishna’s effort hit the side-netting.
East Bengal failed to create any clear chances to equalize. However, Bright completed a fine dribble and attempted a shot early in the game but his shot went wide. But, before the break, the Red and Golds found themselves level as Tiri and Sandesh jumped for the same ball which hit the Spaniard and went into their own goal. The scoreline was 1-1 at half-time.
At the start of the second half, Williams’s shot went narrowly wide. Then East Bengal started to attack. Bright tried his luck from distance twice and both the shots were not on target. However, the Nigerian was causing problems for the Mariners.
Then Habas’s side took control of the game. East Bengal gifted Krishna an opportunity that went out for a corner. From the resulting corner, the Fijian’s header was collected by Subrata. But after 10 seconds, an error by captain Danny Fox was punished. Krishna snatched the ball and played it to Williams who buried it in the bottom corner.
Then Bright completed another fine dribble and also attempted a shot from an acute angle which went out for a corner. After this Mohun Bagan doubled their lead when substitute Javi headed the ball in the goal from a Krishna cross. Thus the game ended 3-1 to the Mariners.
Reactions and Notable Performances:
Habas was happy with his side’s performance. He also dedicated the performance to the fans.
“I want to congratulate the supporters. This is a victory for them. We are here alone and we have their support from a distance. This win was for the supporters. They can be sure that the team will give their 100% on the pitch for the fans, the colour and the club.” -Habas after the game.
East Bengal’s assistant coach Grant was not pleased with how his side gifted Mohun Bagan their second goal.
“I thought it was a good derby game. Both the teams went for it. It was a very honest and strong game. The second goal was the turning point. We have experienced players at the back and it’s a derby game that is one each [1-1 at the time of the error]. There was not much in it and we gifted them the second goal.” –Grant after the game.
Roy Krishna: The Fijian was the best performer of the game with a goal with two assists. He still leads the golden boot race and his performances are inspiring for the Mariners.
Bright: East Bengal’s new signing made his mark in the game. He was always a threat. He completed 8 dribbles and won 14 duels in the game, which is incredible.
Mohun Bagan will play Hyderabad FC next Monday and East Bengal will face NorthEast United on Tuesday.
