ATK Mohun Bagan ended the winning run of leader Hyderabad FC with a 2-1 victory in an ISL-8 fixture at Bambolim on Tuesday.
In a keenly contested match, ATK MB scored through Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh in the space of three minutes while HFC pulled one back through Australian forward Joel Chianese.
In the opening period, ATK MB grabbed the initiative, making a few forays into the HFC box and forcing goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani to bring up a couple of desperate saves.
ATK MB’s first opportunity came in the 18th minute when a pass reached an unmarked Boumous, but he shot wide.
In the next minute, David Williams’ snap shot was cleared by Kattimani; the HFC custodian came to his team’s aid again when he thwarted a Colaco attempt in the 42nd minute.
Hyderabad, which started to find its rhythm late in the opening half, got a chance in the 30th minute but Nikhil Poojary’s effort was tipped over by ATK MB goalkeeper Amrinder Singh.
The ATK MB attack suffered a double blow as it lost two of its key players — Boumous and defensive midfielder Carl McHugh — to injuries in the opening half.
Colaco fetched the lead in the 56th minute, latching on to a pinpoint cross from Williams. The Kolkata side immediately scored the next one when Manvir was set up by a lovely chip from Finland midfielder Joni Kauko. Though Chianese scored for HFC in the 67th minute, the ATK MB defence held on firmly after that.
The result: Hyderabad FC 1 (Chianese 67) lost to ATK Mohun Bagan 2 (Colaco 56, Manvir 59) .
