In what turned out to be a thrilling, yet frustrating game, ATK Mohun Bagan were held to a 1-1 draw against Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 on Friday. The draw helped ATK rise to the second spot in the table, while Hyderabad have risen to fifth, as they remain unbeaten in the opening four games.
The match was off to an intense start in the opening half, with 11 attacks coming up from either side. However, none could find the back of the net, while Hyderabad goalkeeper, Subrata Paul, saved four of ATK’s shot on target, as the deadlock remained intact at half time.
The second half was three attacks, with a couple of ATK, before the side finally broke the deadlock, as Manvir Singh’s right-footed shot from the centre of the box went flying into the top right corner in the 53rd minute. An attack from Hyderabad followed it before Joao Victor brought the deadlock back on in the 64th minute through a penalty after Sumit Rathi brought down Nikhil Poojari. It followed seven more attacks from either, but both the teams showed resilience thereon, as the referee blew the full-time whistle to share the honours.
Meanwhile, after the game, Hyderabad FC assistant coach, Thangboi Singto, expressed his pleasure at the performance and said, “I believe a point is justified. After conceding a goal, we came back strong and earned a point, so I think it was well deserved. I am very pleased with the point. Manuel [Marquez] was not available on the pitch, but the motivation and the pep talk that he gave the players helped the team.”
“Credit to the players who played today. They have taken their chances and will prove to be a big headache for the head coach for the next match. We can’t say this was our best performance because we have a lot of things to improve, but credit to the boys. It’s all about having confidence. When you give the players a chance in the Hero ISL, they need to prove themselves and our players did that,” added Singto.
However, ATK coach Antonio Lopez Habas feels that his side deserved a win. “The team played better in attack than the other matches this season. We had many chances, but we were not able to score the goal. We gave away the match with a penalty, but I think we deserved the victory today. Unfortunately, we conceded a penalty and drew the match,” he said.
“We need time because we need to find the balance between the attack and defence. Our next game is against Goa and they are a very good opponent. We have to prepare the team and maybe with the idea that we can win with the system we played against Hyderabad,” added Habas.
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