Highlights, ISL 2021 Semi-final, NorthEast United vs ATK Mohun Bagan, Full Score: ATKMB through to final after nervy finish

FT | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-2)

The majority of NorthEast’s attacking play at the moment is coming from Benjamin Lambot, of all people. The big Belgian is playing quite high up the pitch, and he puts in a tantalising delivery that only just misses the head of Deshorn Brown. ATK Mohun Bagan still manage to get through unscathed though, and at this point, it really does feel like they’re through to the final. 

Hold up a minute, there’s a yellow card issued and it’s to Antonio Habas! The ATK coach gets a booking for kicking a ball away, but he won’t mind, because ATK ARE THROUGH TO THE ISL FINAL!

89’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-2)

Britto PM comes on for Suhair. Fresh legs up front for Khalid Jamil. What can they do here? They’re fast running out of time, and if Khalid Jamil has an ace up his sleeve, now is the time to play it. McHugh puts Manvir through with a wonderful ball over the top, and the ATK attacker is off an running, but he chooses to take the shot instead of playing a ball square to Roy Krishna, and it’s saved quite easily by Subhashish Roy Chowdhury. The board goes up and there’s five minutes of added time to be played.

87’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-2)

Change for ATK Mohun Bagan as Prabir Das replaces Javi Hernandez. It’s clear that Antonio Habas is intent on seeing this match out, and as soon as Javi walks off, ATK assume the flattest of flat back fours. Roy Krishna has a chance to run onto the NorthEast defence, but ATK are playing some park the bus football at the moment and he has no one to help him out. At the other end, Arindam makes another terrible decision, giving the ball away in front of goal, and Ashutosh finds himself with a chance to shoot from close range. He can’t keep his shot down though, it’s hit straight over the crossbar.

83’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-2)

Deshorn Brown has been running ATK’s defence ragged since coming on, and he’s got his reward, he wins a penalty! Subhashish Bose tries to win a header, and ends up crashing into Brown’s back, that’s a penalty alright. Machado with the ball, this to put NorthEast back on level terms! Can Arindam make up for his earlier error? MACHADO MISSES! That’s a howler of a penalty, it’s hit high and wide and is this the moment that ATK will look back on as the moment they won this tie?

79’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-2)

This is the first time that NorthEast have looked really, truly dangerous all night. Can they take advantage of the shift in momentum and get themselves back level? They have an opportunity to do so, after Machado is fouled near the corner flag. Machado takes the free-kick, but he can only find an ATK head, and the chance goes in vain.

74’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 1 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-2)

NORTHEAST UNITED SCORE THANKS TO SOME SHOCKING GOALKEEPING FROM ARINDAM BHATTACHARYA! The ATK goalkeeper fluffs the simplest of takes from a corner, and instead ends up parrying the ball onto his crossbar and back out into a crowded penalty area, and VP Suhair scores with a brilliant diving header into an empty net. Game on! Or well, it would be, if we didn’t have to take a break for drinks.

71’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-1)

Meanwhile, Federico Gallego has been hauled off the pitch by Khalid Jamil in place of Deshorn Brown. This seems like a bit of a ridiculous decision, to take off one creative player for another when you’re trailing. Khassa Camara, as good as he is, doesn’t contribute anything to the NorthEast attack, and surely it would have more sense to take him off instead.

68’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 2 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 3-1)

The game is opening up, and Manvir Singh takes full advantage, scoring a belter of a goal! The young Indian finds himself up against the duo of Shereef and Gurjinder, and he outfoxes the pair of them, leaving them lying in a heap on the floor as he cuts in and buries a thunderous shot in the NorthEast goal. It’s a moment of sheer brilliance from Manvir, and it’s really taken the wind out of NorthEast’s sails.

62’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

Roy Krishna almost scores, but he’s just about denied by a brilliant bit of defending from Ashutosh Mehta. David Williams played him in, and Roy Krishna took an awkward touch that completely befuddled the NorthEast goalkeeper. Luckily for Subhashish, Mehta was racing back towards the goal, and he managed to clear it off the goal line. Excellent work from Ashutosh.

55’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

Federico Gallego finds himself with a yard of space in which to operate, and he smartly swivels and plays in Luis Machado, who hammers a volley straight at Arindam Bhattacharya. Promising signs these from the Highlanders

52’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

Of course, the danger for NorthEast at this point is that opening up and putting pressure on the ATK Mohun Bagan goal just leave them even more susceptible to scoring. ATK manage to get through the first spell of pressure unscathed, and they’re doing well now to continue pressing high. They can’t win this by game management, 45 minutes is a long long time to survive with such a slender lead.

47’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

So what can NorthEast do better in the second half? Well, just about everything, and it seems like they know it. They come out swinging in the second half, and get a couple of shots on target in quick succession, including one in which Arindam Bhattacharya was really struggling. If they can sustain this pressure for a while, there’s no reason they couldn’t find their way back into the match.

HT | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

It’s been a real champions’ performance this, from ATK. They have been on top from the get-go, and they’ve defended well as a unit to starve NorthEast of chances. At the other end, the likes of David Williams and Roy Krishna have been sharp and between the pair of them, they’ve engineered a few goalscoring chances. Overall, ATK are good value for this lead, but this time around they’ll know not to be complacent, lest NorthEast hit back with a late equaliser like they did in the first leg.

42’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

Freekick to ATK Mohun Bagan after Dylan Fox brings down Roy Krishna on the right wing. Javi puts in a great ball that finds Carl McHugh, but the angle is acute and McHugh ends up heading it out of play for a goalkick.

39’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 1 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 2-1)

DAVID WILLIAMS HAS SCORED YET AGAIN IN THIS SEMI-FINAL TIE! What a strike from the Australian, he’s played in on goal by a beautiful ball from Roy Krishna, and Williams is too fast for the NorthEast backline, as he sprints through them and unleashes a ferocious shot into the top right corner! It looked inevitable, and the goal has finally come! Can NorthEast hit back with a goal of their own?

36’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

ATK have scored 10 goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half over the course of the season, and they’ll be looking to get one now. They certainly have momentum in their favour, they’ve been applying all the pressure so far in the match. Krishna almost gets on the scoresheet, and this was thanks to a lovely ball from Subhashish that had the Fijian one on one with Dylan Fox, He twisted this way and that, before letting loose a powerful low shot that is just about kept out by the North East keeper.

30’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

Mashoor Shereef is issued a yellow card after a swinging hand catches Roy Krishna in the face. Didn’t seem like the worst foul in the world, but Krishna did make a fair deal of it. It’s a freekick in a promising situation though for ATK. They try something a bit intricate that involved Javi passing to Roy Krishna who tries to play in David Williams. but there are too many moving parts in the idea and it doesn’t work. We head into the first drinks break.

24’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

Federico Gallego is a lot deeper than he would like to be at the moment, something which is hampering his ability to really influence this game. ATK Mohun Bagan have been pressing relentlessly, and NorthEast are doing all they can to stay level right now. They do manage to get a good shot away, but that’s entirely down to the individual brilliance of Luis Machado, as he drops a shoulder before unleashing a dipping shot that Arindam just about tips over the bar. The resultant corner is of no avail, with the game being stopped for a foul on the ATK goalkeeper. ATK counter immediately, and Williams finds himself in the box with a chance to shoot, but his attempt is well blocked by a throng of NorthEast defenders.

17’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

Both of NorthEast’s best chances so far have come due to the industrious Idrissa Sylla, who is proving to be a willing focal point for counter attacks with his quick and intelligent movement. Sandesh Jhingan should be able to deal with his threat when it comes down to 1v1 opportunities, but he’s still showing that he’s a real threat.

14’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

At the moment, it appears as though Antonio Habas is playing a sort of hybrid 3-5-2 system, in which Pritam Kotal is tucking in as a third central defender, providing Mohun Bagan with a lot of width in attack. It’s Subhashish and Manvir, who are operating as wing backs, that are looking the most threatening at the moment, running down the touchline and creating overloads on either side.

4’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

Javi Hernandez almost puts ATK ahead with a wonder strike! The Spaniard picks up the ball in midfield and runs towards the NorthEast goal with real intent, before unleashing a piledriver of a shot that hits the base of the post. Great start this from ATK

2’ | ATK Mohun Bagan 0 – 0 NorthEast United (Aggregate 1-1)

Aaand we’re underway in the fourth and final match of these ISL playoffs! With Northeast United and ATK both having scored a goal apiece, and the away goals rule being scrapped, we’re essentially back to square one in this contest. ATK’s goalscorer from the first match David Williams finds himself in with a half chance within the first minute, but his volley from 30 yards out is overhit, and it disappears into the night sky behind Subhasish Roy Chowdhury’s goal.

Just 10 minutes to go!

Who’s going to join Mumbai in the final?

#NEUFC are unbeaten in their previous 11 games in the tournament, having last tasted defeat on 8 January.

Will they reach their maiden final or will it be ATKMB all the way? #ATKMBNEU #ISL

LIVE: https://t.co/4hYVKptJIr

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) March 9, 2021

David Williams’ trickery, Camara’s tireless running and other talking points from the first leg!

Leagues are all well and good, but the drama and excitement that accompanies a do-or-die match is truly exhilarating, and there was a fair bit of that on display in the Indian Super League on Saturday, as NorthEast United scored a stoppage-time equaliser in the first leg of the semi-final to deny ATK Mohun Bagan a win.

Click here to read more of Aadi Nair’s analysis of the first leg.

First leg by the numbers!

NorthEast United FC’s Starting XI!

Subhasish Roy (GK), Gurjinder Kumar, Dylan Fox, Mashoor Shereef, Ashutosh Mehta, Khassa Camara, Lalengmawia, Federico Gallego, Luis Machado, Idrissa Sylla, Suhair Vadakkepeedika.

Idrissa Sylla starts after his exploits in the first leg!

Here’s how ATK Mohun Bagan line up!

Arindam Bhattacharja (GK), Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri, Subhasish Bose, Carl McHugh, Javier Hernandez, Lenny Rodrigues, Manvir Singh, David Williams, Roy Krishna.

Sandesh Jhingan’s back folks!

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the ISL semi-finals!

Having drawn their first-leg tie, both ATK Mohun Bagan and NorthEast United FC will be looking for an outright win in the second leg semi-final clash in pursuit of a final spot alongside Mumbai City in the Hero Indian Super League on Tuesday. Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest updates from what promises to be a thrilling encounter!