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ATK Mohun Bagan defeated FC Goa 2-1 in their 12th game of the ISL 2022-23 season on Wednesday (28th December) in Kolkata. It was also FC Goa's 12th game of the season.
ATK Mohun Bagan have had an average start to the season compared to their expectations and came into the game having placed fourth in the points table having lost their previous game 1-0 to NorthEast United FC.
FC Goa have had a similar start to the season compared to their opponents. The Gaurs came into the game being placed fifth in the points table and played out a 2-2 draw against Jamshedpur FC in the previous game.
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A win would have taken ATK Mohun Bagan to third in the points table while a win would have taken FC Goa to fourth.
The match started on a bright note for the Mariners as they took the lead in the 9th minute when Dimitri Petratos hit a well-struck strike from a throw-in and caught the FC Goa defense napping.
FC Goa kept trying to score the equalizer and finally found the equalizer when Anwar Ali toe-poked an Edu Bedia free-kick past Visual Kaith in the 25th minute.
The scoreboard at halftime read 1-1.
ATK Mohun Bagan started the second half as the better side. The Mariners created better chances and finally took the lead in the 52nd minute when Ashique snatched the ball from Seriton in a dangerous position and played it to Dimitri Petratos who played a brilliant pass to Hugo Boumous who made no mistake in tapping the ball into an empty net.
FC Goa hit the crossbar in the 77th minute when Anwar Ali failed to get his second goal of the game and hit the crossbar from a handshaking distance.
Ashique Kuruniyan probably missed the chance of the season in the 84th minute. The move started with Ashique winning the ball at the halfway line and played a pass to Dimitri. It was a classic 3v1 counter-attacking situation for ATK Mohun Bagan. Dimitri played it back to Ashique, but the Indian winger slotted the ball wide with the entire goal empty in front of him.
The visitors tried hard to find an equalizer but ATK Mohun Bagan held onto their nerves and sealed the victory.
The scoreboard at full-time read 2-1 in favor of the hosts.
With a victory today, ATK Mohun Bagan moved to third in the points table.
On that note, let's take a look at three things we learned from today's game
#3 FC Goa continue to struggle away from home
FC Goa started the season on a bright note, winning their first two away games against East Bengal FC and Chennaiyin FC. However, they lost their third fixture, which was an away game too against Hyderabad FC. Since then, they have failed to win away from home. After the third game, they played three more away games, lost two and drew one.
The Gaurs need to start picking up points and wins, particularly on the road if they want to finish in the top six and stay in the playoff spots.
The results have not just been there and even the performances of players have dipped when the Gaurs have been on the road.
The team management needs to look into this issue if they want to gain something positive this season.
#2 FC Goa's approach backfires
ATK Mohun Bagan had a poor outing against NorthEast United FC in their last game and most people expected FC Goa to take an attacking approach and try to secure a victory. What played out on the pitch, though, was the Gaurs taking a defensive approach or a rather counter-attacking approach.
They committed some mistakes in defense and that hurt them. Both the goals they conceded today were due to a momentary lapse in concentration from the defenders.
One would also wonder why Carlos Pena didn't start with both Noah and Alvaro in the starting eleven today.
The Gaurs had just one shot on target and scored from that shot. They needed to have more shots on target if they wanted to secure even a point from the game.
#1 ATK Mohun Bagan recovers after a clumsy performance
The Mariners had a poor game against NorthEast United FC in their previous game. It was a game they were expected to win but failed to do so. Much of it could be attributed to the absence of some of their star players like Hugo Boumous.
With Hugo back in the starting lineup today, ATK Mohun Bagan played much better football and the link-up between midfield and attack was much better. Hugo also scored the winning goal of the game for the Mariners.
Juan Ferrando also managed to get the better of his pupil Carlos Pena, who played under him in FC Goa and managed to defeat him the first time both sides met in Goa this season.
