ISL 2022-23: Bengaluru FC beat ATK Mohun Bagan to reclaim play-off spot

It was Bengaluru FC's fifth victory on the trot as they moved to sixth place in the ISL 2022-23 league table.

Press Trust of India February 06, 2023 08:39:33 IST

ISL 2022-23: Bengaluru FC beat ATK Mohun Bagan to reclaim play-off spot

Javi Hernandez and Roy Krishna scored the goals for Bengaluru FC. Image: Twitter/@IndSuperLeague

Bengaluru FC moved back into sixth place after earning their first ever victory over ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League on Sunday. The 2-1 win was built on Javi Hernandez’s opener in the 77th minute before Roy Krishna added a second in stoppage time. It was the Blues’ fifth victory on the trot.

Juan Ferrando was forced to make two changes as the suspended duo of Ashique Kuruniyan and Hugo Boumous was replaced by Liston Colaco and Federico Gallego, while Simon Grayson fielded an unchanged XI.

The hosts dominated possession in the first half and entered the final third on several occasions, but the Bengaluru FC backline was on hand to thwart their attempts. The first chance for Bengaluru FC came via Hernandez, whose shot from the edge of the box went just over the crossbar.

Right-back Asish Rai was lively down the right flank with threatening balls in and a couple of shots at goal. In the 20th minute, Rai let one fly from about 30 yards out. His swerving and dipping effort was heading into the bottom corner at the near post before Gurpreet Singh Sandhu went down to palm it behind.

The two teams made moves into each other’s areas without too much success, until the 77th minute when the deadlock was finally broken. Roshan Naorem lobbed the ball towards the edge of the ATK Mohun Bagan penalty area before Hernandez put his laces through a powerful volley that burst through Kaith’s outstretched left hand and into the bottom corner.

After Hernandez opened the scoring in the 77th minute, Pablo Perez came on to assist Krishna’s goal in the first minute of stoppage time, with Kaith’s fumbled attempt to grab a cross opening up a simple tap-in for the striker.

Just when the Blues thought the job was done, Dimitri Petratos’ shot from outside the box came off Alan Costa and flew past Sandhu in the 93rd minute. However, there wasn’t enough time to cause Bengaluru FC any more trouble.

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