ATK Mohun Bagan lose 1-3 to Kuala Lumpur City FC in AFC Cup
ATK Mohun Bagan lose 1-3 to Kuala Lumpur City FC in AFC Cup: On Wednesday, in the AFC Cup inter-zone semifinals, ATK Mohun Bagan’s offensive weaknesses were revealed as they lost 1-3 to Kuala Lumpur City FC.
Paulo Josue, captain of KL City FC and Brazil, scored the team’s first goal in the 60th minute and set up the second goal for replacement Fakrul Aiman in the 90th minute plus three minutes.
At the Salt Lake Stadium, Colombian forward Romel Morales came off the bench and scored the game-winning goal (90+6) for his team, Mohun Bagan. With time running down, Mohun Bagan’s replacement Fardin Ali Molla scored an equalizer, but the team ultimately collapsed in front of their home fans.
Mohun Bagan was eliminated from the AFC Cup in the Inter-Zone semi-finals for the second year in a row. They were beaten badly by FC Nasaf in 2021, losing by a score of 0-6. The inter-zone play-off final has been set with KL City FC taking on PFC Sogdiana of Uzbekistan.
After losing Roy Krishna, David Williams, Sandesh Jhingan, and Tiri, ATK Mohun Bagan coach Juan Ferrando was given a rude awakening before the start of the Indian Super League.
A few days ago, Mohun Bagan lost to Rajasthan United FC of the I-League and was eliminated from the Durand Cup in the group round.
Scoreline
The 1-3 scoreline in favor of the Malaysian team did not accurately reflect the Mariners’ dominance in the first half, especially in the first 15 minutes when they controlled the vast majority of possession.
Manvir Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, and Liston Colaco failed to connect well up front, and their lack of firepower was highlighted without Roy Krishna and David Williams. After receiving a pass from Kauko and dribbling past a defender on the left, Colaco found himself one-on-one with Azri Ghani in the 17th minute.
Colaco’s misery in front of the opposing goal continued in the 36th and 42nd minutes when he missed two more golden opportunities.
At the hour mark, when the home team’s woes seemed unabated, Josue pushed the Kuala Lumpur side ahead with a screaming left-footer against the run of play for his third goal of the match. Their Croatian manager put on a masterful tactical show, and he now has a spotless record in India after beating Bengaluru FC and East Bengal while coaching Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Defense
Mohun Bagan’s defense looked like it was going to hold until the final six minutes, when it collapsed in front of a deliriously happy crowd of almost 18,000 people.
Bengal’s Santosh Trophy hero Molla (90th) wonderfully scored off a rebound after being set up by Kauko, giving hope to Mohun Bagan fans in the final minutes of regulation time.
But then the Brendan Hamill-led defence committed harakiri, letting in two goals in the final two minutes of regulation time. After putting his team up, Josue, a Brazilian, threw in a fantastic free-kick from 35 yards out, and Fakrul, a Turk, made it 2-1 with a magnificent header in the goalmouth.
In the 92nd minute, Morales delivered the knockout blow with a composed shot from close range that gave Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Kaith no chance.