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A late Roy Krishna penalty was the difference between FC Goa and ATK Mohun Bagan at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao on Wednesday night.
Both teams made numerous changes for this game, with the most notable ones coming up the pitch for FC Goa, with Jorge Ortiz and Brandon Fernandes making way for Seiminlen Doungel and Alberto Noguera.
With both sides keen not to be beaten, the game began slowly, and the Gaurs themselves took around ten minutes to settle down and control possession.
ATK Mohun Bagan’s high pressing game caused problems for the FC Goa backline, but chances were still few and far between in the early exchanges.
FC Goa’s first real chance of the game fell to Saviour Gama in the 14th minute, but his effort was well wide and didn’t trouble the opposition.
The game had a bit of bite to it, and tackles were flying in, and with them came the inevitability of yellow cards too, making this a game that was certainly on the edge.
The contest appeared to be crawling towards the break with not much happening, but at the 40th minute mark, a fantastic left-footed strike from ATK Mohun Bagan forward David Williams caught the Goans off guard, and keeper Mohammad Nawaz had the woodwork to thank for keeping it goalless.
That proved to be the last meaningful action of the first half, with both sides still in it to win it at the break.
The start of the second half saw both teams begin the charge once again, and it was Williams who caused the early problems, with a free kick in the 54th minute proving easy to hold on to for keeper Nawaz.
A couple of minutes later, it was the Gaurs who mustered their best chance till this point, with a cross from the right finding the head of Noguera. His header however, was saved by a diving Arindam Bhattacharya.
The introduction of Brandon Fernandes and Jorge Ortiz off the bench made an instant impact, and the latter probably should have won a penalty after a clumsy challenge from ATK Mohun Bagan’s Carl McHugh in the 80th minute. Much to the dismay of the FC Goa players, the referee waved play on, and the Mariners took the advantage, with a run from Roy Krishna seeing him come up against substitute Aibhanbha Dohling.
Aiban chose to go to ground and get the ball, but only succeeded in clattering into Krishna, and this time the referee pointed to the dredded spot.
Roy Krishna stepped up with five minutes of normal time to go, and made no mistake to make it 1-0 and rub salt into the FC Goa wounds.
Despite going behind, the Gaurs rallied, and created two great chances right at the end, with Saviour Gama first stinging the palms of keeper Arindam from distance, and Edu Bedia then directing his header just wide from the resulting corner.
In the end however, the hosts were unable to find an equaliser, and in a game of fine margins, it was ATK Mohun Bagan who came up trumps on this occasion. FC Goa take on Chennaiyin FC on Saturday, December 19 at 7:30pm IST for their next match.
