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ATK Mohun Bagan beat NorthEast United FC 3-1 in match no. 89 of the ISL at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Saturday.
The Mariners were in a quest to achieve a better position in the table after their win against Hyderabad FC last time around came as a confidence booster. Having had a few outstanding games, their points tally has been pretty good amidst the other contenders. Meanwhile, for NorthEast United FC, who are mathematically out of the competition, the remaining games can only serve as a means to save face.
ATK Mohun Bagan started the game on the front foot. Juan Ferrando's men had more possession of the ball but fell short in the final third. However, the Kolkata giants were relentless in their approach.
Amidst all of this, the game suddenly tilted in favor of NorthEast United FC. Marcelo Pereira got hold of a loose ball and carried it towards the opposition goal. Suhair VP steadily gained ground on the right flank to provide support to his teammate. Marcelo passed the ball to Suhair, who launched a powerful strike from the edge of the box unstoppable for Amrinder Singh in goal.
But the Highlanders were unable to hold on to the lead for too long. Finnish international Joni Kauko equalized for the Mariners at the other end. The midfielder received a pass from Liston Colaco and found the goalie stranded. With nobody pressuring him, Joni scored from a low shot and brought the game to level terms.
Both teams looked hungry for a second goal and tried breaching the opposition defense to get one. ATK Mohun Bagan was successful after a few attempts.
Joni Kauko received the ball in his own half and spotted Liston Colaco's run on the left flank. The midfielder launched a pass that Liston controlled very well and cut inside to score the second of the game for Juan Ferrando's side.
ATK Mohun Bagan nail the coffin for NorthEast United FC
Sandesh Jhingan was introduced in the second half in place of Prabir Das. Following the resumption of second-half proceedings, ATK Mohun Bagan forward Manvir Singh scored a goal similar to that of Liston Colaco. This time it was Liston who started the move and found Manvir as the left-footed forward cut inside to score the third goal for his team.
One of the interesting points for the Mariners was the introduction of three young names. Kiyan Nassiri, who became a household name after the derby-day win, was introduced in place of Liston. Bidyananda Ninthoujam was brought in to replace Deepak Tangri and Abhishek Suryavanshi was introduced in place of Joni Kauko. Another name introduced by Juan Ferrando was Gursimrat Singh Gil, who replaced Lenny Rodrigues.
NorthEast United FC tried to lower the margin on the scoreboard. But the Mariners held on with a compact defensive setup to keep the opposition attackers at bay.
