Goa: Hyderabad FC and ATK Mohun Bagan were involved in an entertaining 2-2 draw in match 103 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Monday. Hyderabad had a player sent off in the first half but also took the lead through Aridane Santana. Manvir Singh equalised for the Mariners in the second half before Roland Alberg came off the bench to help Hyderabad regain their lead. Pritam Kotal though salvaged a point for ATK Mohun Bagan by scoring late in the game.
It was an action-packed opening 10 minutes, especially for Hyderabad FC. Manuel Marquez’s men didn’t enjoy the best of starts after Chinglensana received his marching orders in the 5th minute following a foul on David Williams, who was through on goal in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.
However, it wasn’t all bad for Hyderabad as they took the lead just three minutes later after confusion in ATK Mohun Bagan’s defence. A weak back pass by Pritam Kotal was latched on to by Santana in the box and the Spaniard managed to get his shot beyond the goalkeeper. The ball trickled towards the goal-line and ricocheted off the post before hitting Subhasish Bose and going into goal.
The Mariners enjoyed more possession as they looked to make the most of their man advantage and had a chance in the 17th minute when a Roy Krishna header from corner went wide of the target. He also had another opportunity three minutes later but couldn’t get his head to a cross from the left.
Krishna then created a good chance for Williams in the 39th minute when ATK Mohun Bagan broke at pace as the Fijian put in a delicious cross from the right. Williams looked like he was about to direct the ball into the net but a crucial touch by Odei Onaindia ensured that the ball evaded the Australian.
Liston Colaco then had a clear sight of goal after he went past Tiri and raced into the box in the 42nd minute. Colaco though went for goal himself instead of squaring the ball to a teammate as the ATK Mohun Bagan goalkeeper made the save and Hyderabad headed into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Halicharan Narzary came close to doubling Hyderabad’s advantage 11 minutes into the second period but his freekick from a dangerous position went fractions wide of the target. ATK Mohun Bagan made Hyderabad pay for their failure to double their lead with their next attack after scoring the equaliser through Manvir.
After Williams played Manvir in on goal with an intelligent pass in behind Hyderabad’s defence, the Indian striker produced a brilliant finish from a tight angle to level the score in the 57th minute. Hyderabad though weren’t done yet and equalised through Alberg in the 75th minute.
Santana was involved again and headed a ball from an Akash Mishra throw-in towards Alberg near the edge of the box. Alberg went on to produce a first-time finish into the corner of the net and restored Hyderabad’s lead with 15 minutes of regulation time left to play.
The closing stages of the contest saw ATK Mohun Bagan struggle to create any proper chances as Hyderabad’s 10 men defended resolutely. However, they couldn’t prevent the Mariners from scoring an equaliser in injury-time after a short corner by Williams ended up with Jayesh Rane shooting at goal.
Hyderabad’s goalkeeper made the save but couldn’t deny Kotal from bundling the ball over the line to score the leveller on the follow-up. Fran Sandaza headed on target for Hyderabad deep in stoppage time, however, the goalkeeper made the save as the teams shared the spoils.
