ISL 2022-23: ATK Mohun Bagan's Petratos magic sinks Bengaluru FC to another goalless defeat of the season
Dimitri Petratos produced a top-drawer long-range shot as a resilient ATK Mohun Bagan took all three points in a 1-0 win against Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday.
FollowAt the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday, a tenacious ATK Mohun Bagan defeated Bengaluru FC 1-0 thanks to a superb long-range effort from Dimitri Petratos. The defeat marked Bengaluru FC's sixth of the year in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Sunil Chhetri replaced the injured Udanta Singh in the starting XI for the home team. Lenny Rodrigues and Petratos were two players who were crucial to the outcome, and ATK Mohun Bagan took advantage of two opportunities to add them.
Bengaluru FC was the team that got the game underway by pressing hard against ATKMB's backline. When Pritam Kotal, who was under pressure during a goal kick, threw the ball directly into the path of a charging Javi Hernandez, who was one-on-one with Vishal Kaith, they were almost immediately rewarded for their strategy. Hernandez only managed to knock the ball into the goalkeeper's body.
ATK Mohun Bagan entered the match after the 30-minute mark, but in a cagey first period marked by strong challenges, they failed to find a rhythm to convert their ease into a shooting on goal. Their greatest opportunity came from a left-wing cross by Subhasish Bose that caught Bengaluru FC off guard and allowed Liston Colaco to get his head on the ball at the far post, but without control.
But in the 66th minute, when Bengaluru FC was clumsy with the ball, they produced a moment of brilliance. Suresh Wangjam's ball was stolen by Ashique Kuruniyan, who then passed it to Hugo Boumous. He set Petratos up, who received the ball on the edge of the box and fired a strong curling shot from outside the box to easily defeat Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to his left.
A shoddy pass from the back gave Roy Krishna a clear shot at the goal in the 69th minute, adding to the game's sequence of defensive errors. The striker attempted a low shot but was unsuccessful in hitting the mark. Bengaluru FC had a chance to tie the score in the 85th minute when Hernandez's quick touch in a packed area found substitute Sivasakti unmarked at the edge of the box. He was unable to do anything but poke the ball onto the crossbar after the forward's initial touch got it away from him. The host team fell to both Kolkata clubs at home this season, therefore that was their last significant attempt.
The win keeps ATK Mohun Bagan in 4th place with 16 points, two behind third-placed Odisha FC. They host Jamshedpur FC next on December 8. Bengaluru FC stay in 9th place with seven points. They travel to face Kerala Blasters on December 11.
Key stats:
Dimitri Petratos' goal was ATKMB's only shot on target on the night
Roy Krishna took three shots and got none of them on target
Lenny Rodrigues attempted 13 tackles, the most by anyone on the night, and had a passing accuracy of 94%
