ISL 2022-23: NorthEast United stuns ATK Mohun Bagan 1-0 to secure first season points
ISL 2022-23 is continuing with its Matchday 12 contests. On Saturday, NorthEast United shocked ATK Mohun Bagan 1-0 at home in Guwahati, as it was the former's maiden triumph of the season.
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FollowOn Saturday, the home crowd had reason to cheer at the end of a match for the first time at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati. NorthEast United (NEUFC) concluded a ten-game losing streak, picking up its opening points and conquest of the season. The home side bested ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) by a lone goal, with striker Wilmar Jordan the man to put NEUFC in front in the 69th minute before keeping its discipline in the defence. As it sealed a result, it also ended the Mariners' unbeaten streak, leaving it vulnerable to dropping out of the top three.
ATKMB began the contest on the front foot and would stay that way until it conceded. The visitors had shots aplenty on target at almost every point in the match. However, a systematised NEUFC defence ensured that these shots could never be substantial. To its credit, the home side kept its scoring options open and didn't allow ATKMB's much higher possession of the ball to pin them back into its halves. It was a continual hazard on the counter, and although it couldn't get too many of its shots on target, it kept asking questions of ATKMB's high line.
The real maiden sign that it wasn't just looking to take a point from this contest came in the 22nd when Jordan covered the ball with his strength just outside the box, making a quick turn and getting a shot away at the far post. He failed to find enough spirals on it, only to hit the post.
For ATMKB, most events became a case of either being straight at the keeper, going over the bar, or being from a sandy stretch away. In the 68th, Kiyan Giri had the most apparent possibility in the second half for the visitors - but even that was from a tight range on the box's right side, as he could only find goalkeeper Mirshad Michu with his attempt.
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That symbolised ATMKB pushing for a victory that would keep it on the heels of table-topper defending champion Hyderabad FC (HFC) in second place. But, its dedication to scoring would turn into a boon for NEUFC in the next play. It took only a couple of passes to find the goal - one from defence to release Emil Benny on the right and then the midfielder's cross finding a rushing Jordan's head in the box's middle. Thereon, NEUFC controlled the contest, making more prospects than ATKMB and harbouring the result.
The success doesn't change NEUFC's table position, and it remains in the bottom place but will end the year with points on the board as it visits HFC on Thursday. The defeat was a blow to ATKMB's swiftness in the playoff race. It remains third but could drop if either Kerala Blasters (KBFC) or Odisha FC (OFC) pick up a triumph on Monday. Its subsequent contest is versus FC Goa (FCG) on Wednesday.
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