Malé: ATK Mohun Bagan started their AFC Cup campaign on a winning note defeating compatriots Bengaluru FC 2-0 on Wednesday at the National Stadium in a Group D opener. Roy Krishna and Subhasish Bose were the scorers for the Kolkata-based side.
The Green and Maroons had directly qualified for the main group after the erstwhile Mohun Bagan’s victorious 2019-20 I-League campaign. ATK, who were a single entity in the same season, defeated Chennayin FC 3-1 in the Indian Super League final, adding to the cause.
On the other hand, Bengaluru FC made the Group D cut after getting better of Nepal Army 5-0 (preliminary stage) and Eagles FC 1-0 (playoffs). The Antonio Lopez Habas-coached side started putting pressure on Bengaluru from the onset with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu making quite a few sublime saves to keep the opposition at bay.
Krishna, who topped the goalscoring charts in the last ISL season, opened the scoring when he headed home a Subhasish header in the 39th minute. The Blues paid the price for being rusty in the first half helping the Mariners with a much-needed lead.
A minute into the second half, Subhasish gave ATKMB the lead curling past a hapless Sandhu after recieving a sublime pass from David Williams. Bengaluru had their chance of reducing the deficit but recent recruit Amrinder Singh comfortably turned away a clinical Cleiton Silva shot.
Meanwhile, in another Group D match, Basundhara Kings of Bangladesh defeated Maziya Sports & Recreation 2-0. ATK Mohun Bagan take on local Maziya Sports & Recreation next while Bengaluru face Basundhara Kings, both on August 21.
