Dimitri Petratos produced a top-drawer long-range shot as a resilient ATK Mohun Bagan took all three points in a 1-0 win against Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday. The loss was Bengaluru FC’s fifth one of the season.
The home team made one change to their starting XI, with Sunil Chhetri replacing an injured Udanta Singh. ATK Mohun Bagan made two chances, bringing in Lenny Rodrigues and Petratos - two men who were vital to the final result.
It was Bengaluru FC that started the match on the front foot, troubling ATKMB’s backline with a high press. They were almost instantly rewarded for their approach in the 5th minute when Pritam Kotal was pressed during a goal kick and passed the ball straight into the path of a rushing Javi Hernandez, who found himself one-on-one with Vishal Kaith but only hit it into the goalkeeper’s body.
ATK Mohun Bagan only got into the game after the 30-minute mark, but in a cagey first half full of sturdy tackles, they found no rhythm to turn their comfort into a shot on target. Their best chance came from a Subhasish Bose cross from the left which caught Bengaluru FC off guard and allowed Liston Colaco to get his head on the ball on the far post, albeit with no control on it.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad FC returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats as they beat Chennaiyin FC 3-1 in the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday. Halicharan Narzary, Chinglensana Singh, and substitute Borja Herrera struck in the second half to push the defending champions back into second place.
Chennaiyin FC made four changes that saw Gurmukh Singh, Vincy Barretto, Edwin Vanspaul, and Abdenasser El Khayati coming in as Vafa Hakhamaneshi, Sajal Bag, and Sourav Das, Jockson Dhas were left out. A couple of changes for the visitors saw Joel Chianese and Halicharan Narzary return to the lineup, as Borja Herrera was benched and Reagan Singh was not in the squad.
Hyderabad FC almost got their noses in front in first-half stoppage time. Nikhil Poojary crossed the ball from the right flank before Fallou Diagne beat Chianese to it. However, a clearance went straight to Narzary, whose shot rattled the crossbar.
Five minutes past the hour-mark, the deadlock was broken with a superb strike from Narzary. Hyderabad FC’s short corner routine saw Chennaiyin FC tackle the ball straight into the path of Narzary, who wrapped his boot around it and buried it into the back of the net. Moments after the opening goal, Chennaiyin FC were reduced to ten men when right-back Ajith was shown a second yellow in the 71st minute.