Fatorda, Dec 29: A Liston Colaco thunderbolt stole the show on a night Roy Krishna also found the target to make Juan Ferrando’s return to familiar territory a sweet one as ATK Mohun Bagan beat FC Goa 2-1 in the Indian Super League at the PJN Stadium here on Wednesday.
Ferrando returned to take on his former side FC Goa as ATKMB head coach and Colaco (23rd) gifted him with a stunning strike in the first half. It was his fifth goal of the season, the highest by any Indian this term. Krishna (56th) made it 2-0 early on in the second half before Jorge Ortiz fortuitously pulled one back in the 81st minute but it was not enough in the end.
The result means ATKMB continued their resurgence under Ferrando, moving to third in the points table with 14 points from eight matches. Goa, meanwhile, remained eighth having the same number of points from eight games.
The impressive Devendra Murgaonkar warmed Amrinder Singh’s gloves with an early attempt after nutmegging his marker and getting the better of him to shoot on goal. Amrinder saw the ball all the way and had it covered.
ATKMB, though, were enjoying the lion’s share of possession and got their reward in the 23rd minute albeit a moment of individual brilliance.
The sparkling Colaco, causing all sorts of trouble to Goa for some time, got on the ball on the left inside channel near the halfway mark. The 23-year old took a couple of steps forward to then unleash a rocket of a hit that swerved past the keeper and into the back of the net. Ferrando had his hands on his head in disbelief, his mouth wide open as the green and maroons went ahead riding that piece of magic.
At the half-hour mark, Jorge Ortiz forced Amrinder into a good save from a free-kick but the half had already gone to Liston for his wonderful strike, and deservingly ATKMB went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The Mariners doubled their advantage soon after the restart, Krishna firing home first time a Hugo Boumous lob from the edge of the box. Goa never really got a grip of the game after falling behind by two goals before a Amrinder gaffe helped them get back in the game. Ortiz’s weak left-footer was inexplicably spilled by Amrinder as the ball went into the net.
ATKMB held firm and bagged three points. (UNI)
