Indian Super League champions ATK Mohun Bagan were left thoroughly embarrassed at the EMS Corporation Stadium on Friday night, April 14, when they crashed out of the Super Cup.
Faced with a must-win situation against Jamshedpur FC in the crucial Group C match, Kolkata’s green and maroon side lost 3-0 – one of their worst defeats in recent times. The win took Jamshedpur to the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur FC were deserved winners after putting up an impressive performance in Kozhikode. Once they took the lead in the 22nd minute, there was no looking back for Aidy Boothroyd’s boys. The ATK Mohun Bagan defence made the cardinal mistake of leaving Boris Singh Thangjam without a marker and paid heavily for it.
When a cross from the left after a combined move between Ritwik Das and Rafael Crivellaro nearly went abegging in front of the ATK Mohun Bagan goalmouth, an unmarked Boris appeared to slam the ball home.
Crivellaro continued to cause trouble for the Mariners’ defence and nearly scored his second free-kick goal of the tournament in the 26th minute, but for his effort hitting the woodwork.
The ATK Mohun Bagan defenders didn’t learn from the mistakes they committed early in the match. In the 43rd minute, they made an identical error and allowed Boris to score again. The 23-year-old was once again left unmarked by the Mariners’ defence inside the box. An oncoming Ritwik Das passed the ball to him and Boris sprinted towards the goal to finish the move and make it 2-0.
In the second half, the game turned somewhat physical when both teams often used unfair means. The referee had to brandish the yellow card on one too many occasions. In the 67th minute, Dimitrios Petratos had a chance to put ATK Mohun Bagan back into the game. But the Australian stalwart’s free-kick missed the target.
To put the game to bed, Jamshedpur further extended their lead late in the fifth minute of stoppage time as substitute Harry Sawyer took advantage of a loose ball inside the box and drove it home to make it 3-0.
FC Goa beat Gokulam
FC Goa edged a nervy encounter against Gokulam Kerala FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium, winning 1-0 in Kozhikode, on Friday.
It was FC Goa captain Iker Guarrotxena who made the difference for his side with a 90th minute strike, a goal that keeps the Gaurs’ chances of making it to the semi-finals of the Super Cup afloat in Group C.
FC Goa’s foreign duo of Sadaoui and Guarrotxena combining to score the winning goal. At the stroke of the 90th minute, Abdul Hakku lost possession of the ball in a dangerous area and Sadaoui led the counter-attacking move. Gokulam custodian Shibinraj managed to block Sadaoui’s effort, but the ball fell into Guarrotxena’s feet, who calmly slotted it home to give his side a late 1-0 lead and ensured crucial three points for Carlos Pena’s men.
The win means FC Goa still stand a chance to make it through to the semi-finals as they face ATK Mohun Bagan in their final game of Group C. On the other hand, Gokulam Kerala will be hoping to bow out of the tournament on a positive note when they face Jamshedpur FC on April 18.
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