MATCH BLOG
A scrappy start to the season but top-flight Indian football is back. But we might see some eye-catching football tomorrow night. Sergio Lobera wouldn't have it any other way . His new side Mumbai City FC takes on NorthEast United FC at Tilak Maidan at 7.30 pm. Match report and the talking points will be live soon. Keep and eye out for them. Until then, it's good night from us.
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Antonio Habas in the post-match presentation: "Fantastic game after no football for 8 months. Important 3 points and I am happy with it. No normal pre-season and the team was fantastic to get the desired target today. We played good football and took the chances. Now I want to go back and assess the injuries (Soosairaj). I am not thinking about East Bengal..."
The substitution of Manvir Singh in the second half made the desired impact on the game.
There were some good moments for Blasters but struggled to carve out any real chance and ATKMB 'keeper Arindam didn't have any save to make on the night. Sahal, who signed a big long term contract recently, had the best chance which he should have put away. Blasters were often a bit too comfortable to have the ball in their feet inseatd of looking to play it at a higher tempo in the opposition half but it's early days for Kibu Vicuna and his men.
A plucky win but its all the same and Habas will take it even on his best day. Krishna, who scored 15 goals for ATK last season, is the man of the moment to convert a half chance into three points for ATK Mohun Bagan.
SECOND HALF
FULL TIME! ATK Mohun Bagan makes history with its first win in the ISL.
90'+3' Blasters looking for that once chance inside the ATK Mohun Bagan box but they are struggling to break down those numbers inside. The ball finds the feet of Peuitea outside the box and his shot is just over the bar! Corner kick is awarded and there is no trouble for ATK Mohun Bagan after McHugh heads it away.
Four minutes of added time
89' Welcome to the ISL, Facundo. Pereya is booked for a high boot, not really one, against Javi Hernandez. The Spaniard makes the most of a slight contact.
88' Prabir with a rare foray forward and crosses the ball into the box but can't find any of his teammate.
87' Seityasen lines up a shot from distance and he ends up blazing it over the bar.
86' Blasters SUBs: Kone, Sahal - OFF, Pereya, Lalruatthara - ON
83' Cross into the box from the right and Murray's header is wayward and off target.
82' ATKMB SUB: Krishna off, Williams on
81' Another chance for Sahal inside the box but too many bodies inside the box and his shot on the bounce is over the bar.
80' Krishna with a knock down from a long ball and Edu's shot on the run is just wide of the far post.
78' Costa with a lunging tackle on Javi Hernandez, who went on a mazy run through the middle of the park. But the referee cards Sahal... Struggling to work that out. Replay shows its for a tug earlier inside the centre circle on Javi by Sahal.
75' Blasters SUBS: Puitea, Murray - ON, Ritwik, Cido - OFF
Play is paused and we have the last drinks break of the evening.
72' Clash of heads and McHugh goes down going into a challenge with Costa.
70' Ball played into the feet of Hooper but he isn't afforded the time to get his shot away. He is crowded out and in the end he could only get a corner.
Roy Krishna becomes the first goal-scorer for ATK Mohun Bagan
67' GOAL! But poor passes don't matter when the opposition gifts you an opportunity in its own half. A loose ball after a uncontrolled clearance from Cido is latchesd on by Krishna just inside the box: one touch and he lashes it with his left foot past Albino.
Some shocking crosses from ATK Mohun Bagan on the night.
66' Another dangerous from the left for Blasters by Seityasen which is cut out by Arindam but he clashes into Jhingan in the process. Jhingan was winded by his own man but he is okay now.
Two strikers on at the moment for ATK Mohun Bagan with Garcia dropping into the middle of the park.
63' ATKMB SUB: Halder off, Manvir Singh on
60' Blasters SUB: Naorem off, Seityasen on
ATK Mohun Bagan has managed to break the flow in play of the Blasters for the moment.
56' Some crunching tackles from both sides and the referee allows the game to flow here.
54' It's all Blasters with the build-up play in this half. Hooper had a good chance when the ball was played into his feet but he miscontrols it and takes the ball away from the box.
The Blasters are slowly getting a foothold of this game in this game.
50' Another fresh air shot! Jessel with a superb run down th left and his hooked cross into the centre is headed into th path of the unmarked Sahal, who doesn't get the connection with his volley. A cry of anguish from Sahal after that effort.
47' Cross in from Jessel for Sahal, who goes for a headed lay-off from the edge of the box to play in Hooper but the touch his heavy.
46' ATK Mohun Bagan gets the ball rolling for the second period. Jessel does well to get away from the press in his own half on the left side and win a foul in the process.
No changes for either sides at half-time
If David Williams fit enough to come on in the second half then he could have a potential impact in the match. Blasters, too, have some interesting options to come off the bench.
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FIRST HALF
The referee blows for the half-time whistle. Blasters will be happy with the half, while ATK Mohun Bagan hasn't looked sharp. Understandable since its players are coming in with no real competitive pre-season game under their belts.
45'+2' Blasters with a strong finish to the half but they can't getvthe right final ball inside the box to find Hooper.
Three minutes off added time.
43' Jessel with a try from distance which is deflected behind for a corner kick. Referee awards a foul against Blasters for clashing against an ATK Mohun Bagan player.
42' Edu Garcia is booked for stepping on the foot of Gomez.
40' Krishna gets away from his marker again and yet again, he can't get the desired contact with a header.
39' Jessel gives away a corner after a mishit back pass from the centreline...
38' Halder with a poor tackle on Cido and the Balsters players aren't happy. Halder is booked for that.
37' Chance for Ritwik after some sustained pressure in the ATK Mohun Bagan half. Naorem cuts in from the left to play in a loopy cross which need a touch from Ritwik, but he fails to get the contact.
35' A series of poor giveaways from both sides. But ATK Mohun Bagan had the biggest opportunity when Edu Garcia was played through on a one-v-one against Costa. The ball was a touch heavy which allows Costa to get in the tackle.
33' Gomez's side foot is intercepted, and is played into the feet of Krishna. The Fiji striker lines up a shot from distance which goes narrowly over the bar.
At the 30-min mark , we have the first drinks break of the season. Habas would like his team to have more intensity in pressing the Blasters higher up the pitch to win the ball in dangerous positions to exploit.
Sahal is playing as he advanced midfielder in the midfeild three with Cido and Gomez sitting as the deepest midfielders.
McHugh is asked to go off the field after he had a bump to his face. He is back on the field now.
27' CHANCE! McHugh with a bullet header from the corner kick which narrowly misses the goal.
24' Corner for Blasters after Jhingan makes a crucial intervention to take the ball away from Ritwik's run. Cidoncha's corner goes out of play... Wasted opportunity.
23' Sahal with a foul on Hernandez near the centre line. Krishna is flagged offside from the quick free kick.
20' There are some poor giveaways in their own half by Blasters but ATK Mohun Bagan players have been poor with their final passes so far.
ATK Mohun Bagan is looking for the quick interchanges in the middle of the park to release Krishna early to get behind the Blasters defence.
18' Kone with a poor back pass is latched on to by Kone but his partner covers the danger by closing him down and making the crucial tackle.
17' Great layoff near the centre circle from Hooper for Sahal, who turns away from his markers to play in Prasanth on the right. His shot on the cut in lacks pace.
Soosairaj is stretchered off and appears to be in considerable pain.
ATKMB SUB: Soosairaj is taken off... Subhasish Bose comes on in place of him
13' Soosairaj goes down injured near the byline after Prasanth clatters against his right leg from behind. No foul awarded in favour of ATK Mohun Bagan. Soosairaj is receiving treatment.
12' A break on for ATK Mohun Bagan with Soosairaj played down free on the left. But the left wing-back plays in a poor final ball...
10' Free-kick is cleared away by Tiri.
9' Jhingan knocks down Hooper near the centre circle and the referee awards the foul.
6' Blasters are hogging the possession at the moment. A ball into the box is chested down by Naorem but Jhingan, in the left centre back role, cuts out the danger.
Blasters are looking to play out from the back but ATKMB players are incessant in pressing them high up in their own half. Couple of good steals but the final balls have not been incisive yet.
4' What a chance for ATK Mohun Bagan. Krishna, unmarked in the box, connects with the fresh air, from just 8 yards out...
3' Ball in behind for Krishna to chase down but Kone makes a crunching tackle to give away a corner.
1' Blasters kicks off from left to right. Kone is the right-sided centre-back for Blasters, Costa partners him on the left. A wayward pass from Costa back to his gk was dealt with well by Albino.
No pre-match handshakes, toss is done with. It's kick-off time.
Update: David Williams picked up a knock in training and it could be the reason he isn't starting today.
Top division football in India is just a mere seconds away...
7.26pm: The players now line up on the pitch for the Indian national anthem.
7.23 pm: ATK Mohun Bagan players clad in Green and Maroon are lining up in the tunnel alongside the Blasters.
7.20 pm: Habas perhaps gone a more pragmatic way with Williams dropping to the bench. Tiri becomes the first overseas player to play in all seven ISL seasons. Super-sub Edu Garcia gets a rare start up top alongside Roy Krishna in what will be a 3-5-2 formation.
7.10 pm: Sandesh Jhingan downplays the narrative around him lining up against his former employer: "It's just 90 minutes, XI v XI... Apart from that, I never feel many emotions for the game. It's about three points."
7.05 pm: Pradhyum Reddy on the official broadcast network networks points out that Prasanth has been playing as a right back in pre-season and Ritwik is one player to watch out for.
6.55 pm: No natural right-back for Blasters. New signing Nishu on the bench and Prasanth K will likely start as the right-back. It would be a 4-3-3 formation from Kibu Vicuna. Debut for Bengal-born midfielder Ritwik Das, who began his youth career at Mohun Bagan. Nongdamba Naorem, who won the I-League at Bagan while on loan, also makes his league debut.
Kerala Blasters XI
Abino Gomes; Prasanth K, Costa Nhamoinesu, Bakary Kone, Jessel Carneiro; Sahal Abdul Samad, Sergio Cidoncha, Vicente Gomez; Ritwik Das, Nongdamba Naorem, Gary Hooper
Subs: Prabshukhan Gill, Nishu Kumar, Lalruatthara, Seityasen Singh, Rohit Kumar, Jeakson Singh, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Jordan Murray, Facundo Pereyra
ATK Mohun Bagan XI
Arindam Bhattacharyya; Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri, Pritam Kotal; Prabir Das, Pronay Halder, Javi Hernandez, Carl McHugh, Michael Soosairaj; Roy Krishna, Edu Garcia
Subs: Avilash Paul, Sumit Rathi, Subhasish Bose, Brad Inman, Glan Martins, Jayesh Rane, David Williams, Sahil Sheikh, Manvir Singh,
6.25 pm: A few minutes now until the first team news of the season.
6.22 pm: A ninth new coach in six years for Kerala Blasters. But it has an exciting one in Kibu Vicuna, who might be smarting over being overlooked for the ATK Mohun Bagan job after leading the Mariners to the I-League title last season. How has he shaped the Blasters in the off-season and the pre-season. Season preview for the Blasters - READ
6 pm: So what exactly happened to ATK and Mohun Bagan from last season season at the end of the merger? What colours will the new entity don for the new season? And what of the players from both clubs? Is ATK Mohun Bagan a stronger outfit than last season's ATK and Mohun Bagan, respectively? All your questions are answered in this detailed season preview of the Mariners - READ
A big preview for the biggest season yet. Our reporters have their say on whether ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters are among their picks for the ISL title. Listen to our 'Full Time Show' Podcast for the 2020-21 season.
The Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) will mark the return of major league competition in India after the nationwide lockdown to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak was first imposed in March.
The seventh edition of the ISL gets underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa from November 20.
The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a double round-robin format across three venues. Following SC East Bengal's inclusion, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.
Kerala Blasters predicted XI (4-3-3)
Abino Gomes; Nishu Kumar, Costa Nhamoinesu, Bakary Kone, Jessel Carneiro; Sahal Abdul Samad, Sergio Cidoncha, Vicente Gomez; Facundu Pereyra, Gary Hooper, Rahul KP
ATK Mohun Bagan predicted XI (3-5-2)
Arindam Bhattacharyya; Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri, Pritam Kotal; Prabir Das, Michael Regin, Javi Hernandez, Carl McHugh, Michael Soosairaj; Roy Krishna, David Williams
We have got you covered for your fantasy Blasters-ATK Mohun Bagan XI. Captaincy pick: Roy Krishna
Combined Blasters-ATKMB XI
Arindam Bhattacharyya; Prabir Das, Sandesh Jhingan, Bakary Kone, Jessel Carneiro; Rahul KP, Carl McHugh, Javi Hernandez, Michael Soosairaj, David Williams, Roy Krishna
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