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Powered by a hat-trick from Liston Colaco, ATK Mohun Bagan thrashed Bangladesh giants Bashundhara Kings in the second round of the AFC Cup 2022 group stage fixtures at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium on Saturday.
The Mariners came into the game after suffering a humiliating 2-4 defeat against Gokulam Kerala FC in the opening game of the tournament. Juan Ferrando's men were left dumbstruck but knew a response was necessary to keep their qualification hopes alive. Meanwhile, Bashundhara registered a 1-0 victory against Maziya FC in their previous match.
The match started out as a cagey affair but after the first 10 minutes, the game was suspended for nearly an hour due to the poor weather conditions in West Bengal. However, once the action resumed, there was only one storm blowing in the stadium - the Liston Colaco storm.
Right after the restart, Bashundhara centre-back Bishwanath Ghosh, in an attempt to clear the ball, completely botched possession in his box. Colaco was the quickest to react and regain the ball inside the box. The 23-year-old eased the ball past the Bashundhara keeper in the 25th minute.
Nine minutes later, the Mariners doubled their lead through Colaco yet again. The young winger was set through on goal by an inch-perfect ball from Joni Kauko. The top Indian scorer in the 2021-22 ISL season went around goalkeeper Ansiur Rahman and passed the ball into the open net.
The Bangladeshi side had very little attacking output in the first half. Rimon Hossain came closest to scoring for Bashundhara in the 21st minute when his volley from outside the box was parried by ATKMB custodian Arsh Shaikh.
Even the heavens opened up to witness Liston Colaco's magic
Bashundhara Kings seemingly started the second half on the front foot, with Yeasin Arafat’s strike testing the ATK Mohun Bagan keeper early on. However, Liston Colaco stormed past the Bashundhara defense to end any kind of a comeback minutes later.
The Goa-born winger made the Bangladeshi club pay for a sloppy bit of defending in the 53rd minute as he tucked home his third goal of the night after a low cross from Manvir Singh.
The visitors grew desperate and pushed men forward. However, their evening went from bad to worse when substitute David Williams hammered home their fourth goal of the night in the 77th minute.
ATK Mohun Bagan will next face Maziya on Tuesday in a decisive clash. Meanwhile, Bashundhara will lock horns with table-toppers Gokulam Kerala next. The win means both ATK Mohun Bagan and Bashundhara will go into the final matchday with three points from two matches.
