A superb header by substitute David Williams in the 90th minute allowed ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) to get back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Thursday.
CFC’s season-long troubles with defending set-pieces once again cost the team dearly after Javier Hernandez sent in an inch-perfect shot from a corner to an unmarked Williams who headed in to put the match to rest. ATKMB, which outplayed CFC, looked the more disciplined side in the park.
Good chance wasted
After a slow start, ATK had one of the best chances of the day in the 18th minute when Manveer Singh produced a good run on the right side but his heavy cross went beyond the reach of a charging Roy Krishna.
Within minutes later, a header from Edu Garcia from the centre allowed Hernandez to take an opportunistic shot from outside the box but CFC goalkeeper Vishal Kaith produced a timely dive to punch it out.
After starting aggressively in the first ten minutes, CFC felt the absence of Rafael Criverllaro and Anirudh Thapa to provide the creative input in the midfield.
CFC had an early chance in the eighth minute when Rahim Ali went for glory with a long-ranger but was off-target. He would have been better off assisting Esmael Goncalves on his left.
Poor passing
After that, CFC failed to keep possession because of some poor passing and its strategy of playing long-passes also did not help the cause.
Even in the second half, ATKMB created far more chances than CFC, which did not look like a team looking to score.
In the end, the defensive approach of trying to pocket one point with a goalless draw failed as last year’s runner-up slumped to its fourth loss of the season.
The result: ATK Mohun Bagan 1 (David Williams 90) bt Chennaiyin FC 0.
Friday’s match: SC East Bengal v Mumbai City, 7.30 p.m.
