Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters Indian Super League match played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Saturday.
ATK Mohun Bagan qualifies for the playoffs after clinching a 2-1 win against Kerala Blasters. It also maintains its unbeaten record against the Blasters in the ISL.
It is a brilliant counter-attack by ATKMB. Colaco plays a good ball to Asish on the right after seeing him in space. Asish makes a darting run on the right flank, before sending a low cross inside the box, in search of teammate. Petratos and Colaco was there in support but the ball goes straight to Gill.
A nice ball is played towards Nishu Kumar on the right, but Subhasish is there to make the interception and clear the ball to safety.
Five minutes added at the end of the second-half!!
As expected, the Mariners have gone a bit defensive with their play and it is Kerala doing all the attacking. Although the Blasters have qualified, it will look to finish as high as possible.
ATKMB sub: IN- Colaco OUT- Manvir.
KBFC subs: IN- Farooq, Leskovic OUT- Hormipam, Diamantakos.
ATKMB sub: IN- Puitea, Damjanovic OUT- Ashique, McHugh.
No hat-trick for McHugh then as he leaves the pitch.
KBFC sub: IN- Ayush OUT- Jeakson
That Rahul KP sending off looks more glaring now as ATKMB took the lead just six minutes after the KBFC player departed the pitch.
GOOOOALLLL!! ATK MOHUN BAGAN TAKES THE LEAD!! MCHUGH GRABS A BRACE!! The Mariners have made use of the extra man. KBFC is put under pressure and there is some extra space at the edge of the box. Manvir lays off the ball for McHugh who takes a first-time shot to curl the ball past Gill at the far-post.
Manvir finds Ashique with a wonderful cutback from the right flank. Ashique has a chance to shoots but he is too late in making a decision and ends up losing the ball. He goes down inside the box and there was another penalty shout but nothing given.
KBFC sub: IN- Saurav OUT- Bryce
RED CARD- Rahul KP sees a second yellow card and he is off. It was a silly challenge to make on Ashique.
Asish Rai goes down inside the box and the entire ATKMB team, bench included, want a penalty. However, the referee waves play on.
Booking: Brendan Hamill sees a yellow card. This means he will miss ATKMB’s last game against East Bengal FC. Not the best game to miss.
Ashique gets his marker and swings a low cross inside the Blasters box. It should have been an easy collect for Gill but he spills it and Petratos was ready to pounce. However, Mongil recovers in time and clears the ball.
Glan Martins finds Rai on the left with a lobbed through ball. Rai tries to find a teammate with a first-time cross but miscues his effort.
Off the post- Petratos does well to keep the ball under pressure and send a wonderful cross inside the box. Manvir gets at the end of the cross and guides the ball towards the goal with his head, but hits the post.
Booking: Diamantakos sees a yellow card after bringing down Manvir.
Diamantakos gets the ball and looks to make a run at goal but he is fouled again.
Subhasish makes a reckless challenge on Diamantakos in the opening minutes of the second-half. Bose is already on a yellow card and is lucky not get a second one.
ATKMB sub: IN Gallego OUT- Boumous
ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters locked at 1-1 as second-half kicks-off!!
Diamantakos and McHugh with a goal each for Kerala Blasters and ATK Mohun Bagan respectively to keep the scores level at 1-1 at HT.
Diamantakos does well to find Giannou with a backheel. The latter goes for a first-time shot but blasts his effort above the bar. Giannou was leaning back slightly when he took the shot.
Two minutes added at the end of the second-half.
ATK Mohun Bagan is bossing possession at the moment and Kerala Blasters looking to play on the counter. However, ATKMB’s passing has mostly been sideways and backwards. Nothing substantial has come from the Mariner’s dominance on the ball.
The tempo of the match has suddenly dipped at the moment but both teams will push for a goal before half-time for a precious lead.
Ivan finds Diamantakos inside the box with a good pass. Diamantakos shoots at goal from a tight angle, which takes a deflection and goes out for a KBFC corner.
Kerala Blasters finding it difficult to get out of its own half right now. The Mariners are pressing effectively whenever the Blasters have possession.
Glan Martins puts his body on the line to block a shot by Ivan and it comes at a cost. He has gone down but it should be nothing serious. He just looks winded.
Hamill make a good penetrative run from inside his own half. He releases the ball to Boumous, but the Frenchman, under pressure, loses the ball.
Kerala Blasters were dominating the early minutes of the match and even scored the opening goal. But since, ATKMB’s equaliser, the Mariners look more likely to take the lead. The Blasters defence has been quite busy in the last few minutes.
Booking: Rahul KP is shown a yellow card for a poor challenge on Boumous. This means he will be suspended for the next game.
GOOOOALLLL!! ATK MOHUN BAGAN EQUALISES!! MCHUGH WITH THE GOAL!! Dimitri Petratos swings a pin-point cross inside the box and McHugh is there to head the ball inside the net.
Booking: Subhasish Bose of ATK Mohun Bagan sees a yellow card.
Close- Giannou comes close to scoring a second goal as he attempts an overhead kick in inside the Mariners box. The Blasters seem to be in the mood today.
GOOOOALLL!! KERALA BLASTERS SCORES!! DIAMANTAKOS SCORES A SCREAMER!! Beautiful one touch football by Vukomanovic’s men. Giannou opens the ATKMB defence with a wonderful no-look pass and Diamantakos blasts the bll into the roof of the net with a first-time finish.
Bryce swings a searching ball inside the ATKMB box from the left flank. Giannou rose to head the ball but could not get the desired contact. The Mariners clear the ball to safety.
ATKMB has good support at the Salt Lake Stadium today. It has never lost to Kerala Blasters in the ISL. The Mariners will want to continue that run.
Petratos swings a ball inside the box from an ATKMB corner but the ball goes straight to Gill, who catches the ball.
Diamantakos makes another good run inside the box and looks to get a shot away at goal but Kotal puts in a good tackle to send the ball out for a corner.
Nishu Kumar misses his header and Ashique is there to capitalise on the situation. He makes a run inside the box and tries to lift the ball over Gill. However, his lobbed effort is not on target.
Boumous given time and space near the Blasters box. He shoots from the edge of the penalty-area, but it is straight at Gill.
Close- Diamantakos makes a good run as he gets the ball inside the ATKMB box after a pass from Bryce. He shoots at goal but hits the side-netting.
Probably the biggest match of ATKMB’s season so far. Juan Ferrando and his men need a win if they want to book that precious playoffs berth.
The ISL match between ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters kicks-off at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan
From the coach’s mouth!!
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters confirmed lineups!!
Match Preview
An injury-riddled ATK Mohun Bagan will be looking to rediscover its form as it takes on Kerala Blasters, in an Indian Super League (ISL) at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.
Having secured only four out of the possible 18 points in its last six outings (a win, two draws and three losses), ATK Mohun Bagan’s approach to the knock-out stage suddenly seems to have gone rudderless.
Injuries to its key foreigners appear to be the bane of ATKMB, which has not been able to find appropriate names from the bench seeing its performance going into a tailspin. ATKMB is currently placed fifth with 28 points from 18 matches and will continue to fall down the rungs if it fails to pick up enough points in its remaining two matches.
With only two spots remaining vacant in the six-team knock-out stage, the host does not appear to have enough time to recover.
“This team needs to show character and it is a strong team. The recent results have been disappointing, but difficult situations provide the best moments to work on a plan for the future,” said ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando.
“We have to work together, follow the plan and forget about the previous results. That is what is best for the team. Everyone at the club wants to win the last two matches,” he added.
Ferrando had to do without the likes of Frenchman Hugo Boumous and India forward Ashique Kuruniyan in the past two matches. There is a possibility that the Irish midfielder Carl McHugh may have to sit out with an injury thereby increasing the challenge for Ferrando.
Unlike the host, Kerala Blasters has already ensured qualification to the knock-out stage after Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa on Thursday.
With 31 points from 18 matches, the third-placed Blasters will be looking to cement its position adding more points to its existing tally. The Yellow Army will also be looking at the opportunity to avenge the defeat it suffered against the same opposition in the first phase of the tournament.
Moreover, it will be a chance for the Blasters to find its first win against ATKMB having lost four and drawn once in the five meetings so far.
“Even last year we qualified for the playoffs in the last game or the game before that so we are used to the pressure. Of course, the circumstances yesterday (Chennaiyin FC’s win over FC Goa) helped us to qualify for the playoffs but we still have two more games where we want to be strong and show that we are capable of being in the playoffs,” Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic said about his team’s upcoming match.
The Blasters will be without their suspended Uruguayan forward Adrian Luna in the match against ATK Mohun Bagan.
-Amitabha Das Sharma
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters Predicted XI
When and where will the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match kick-off?
The ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match will kick-off at 7:30 PM IST, February 18 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
Where can you watch the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match?
The ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match will be live telecasted on the Star Sports Network.
Where can you live stream the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match?
The ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match will be live streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website.
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