Goa: ATK Mohun Bagan showed a ruthless display over SC East Bengal as they beat their city rivals 3-1 in the second ISL derby at the Fatorda Stadium on Friday. With this win, the Mariners finish the season of the 100th year of the legendary Kolkata derby with a double over their rivals.
ATKMB has five wins in a row now and lead Mumbai City FC by five points at the top with the latter having a game in hand. Roy Krishna (15′) opened the scoring for ATKMB before East Bengal pulled one back through an own goal from Tiri (41′).
Krishna later set up goals for David Williams (72′) and Javier Hernandez (89′) to help the Mariners secure the derby bragging rights while strengthening their lead at the top.
ATKMB started the match strongly as they have been the no. 1 side in the league coming to this match. The first goal came in the 15th minute from a Tiri long ball which was played for Krishna and the Fijian made no mistake in scoring for his side.
Bagan fashioned another great chance in the 23rd minute but rival custodian Subrata Paul made a fine save. Williams threaded a through ball into the box for Marcelinho whose effort was parried away by Paul.
East Bengal failed to register a single shot on target in the opening half. It looked like Bagan would head into the break with their noses in front, but a defensive error helped the Red and Golds restore parity.
Raju Gaikwad took a throw-in and directed it at the far post which was inadvertently diverted by Tiri into his own net in the 41st minute.
The match was totally set to fire in the second half as East Bengal have the knack of scoring late goals. Bright Enobakhare stood up to the occasion with his silky moves and individual brilliance which could have given them the lead.
But one mistake from the East Bengal defenders cost them the match. Danny Fox mistakenly passed the ball to incoming Krishna and he did find his strike partner Williams who scored in the 72nd minute.
As Habas has been a master of winning tough matches, his players are certainly equal to it. In the 89th minute, Krishna and Javi played a one-two which led to an ATKMB attack followed by a spectacular goal from Javi.
