ATK Mohun Bagan ended their two-match losing run but perhaps not in the way they would have liked to do it. For the second match running, Chennaiyin FC dominated but failed to translate it to a win. This, in a nutshell, was the outcome of the 1-1 stalemate between the two sides at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Saturday.
Liston Colaco put Antonio Lopez Habas's hosts ahead with a brilliant finishing in the 18th minute. But ATK Mohun Bagan's recent defensive woes once came to the fore, as Vladimir Koman punished them with the equalizer on the stroke of halftime.
The only unbeaten side of the ongoing league, Chennaiyin FC emerged the dominant side as the match wore on, but just like their forwards' lack of application in the attacking third, which saw them settle for a goalless draw with SC East Bengal in the previous match, Edwin Vanspaul and others failed to turn their domination more meaningful.
ATK Mohun Bagan stayed sixth with seven points from five matches while Chennaiyin FC moved up to third with eight points having played a game less.
After a cagey start, during which both teams looked intent more on sizing each other up than making any meaningful foray into the box, the hosts breathed a fresh lease of life into the game, breaking the monotony with a brilliantly executed goal.
Cashing in on Koman's misspass near the centre circle, Krishna swooped on it and split the rival defence with a stunning forward pass. Liston timed his surging run from the left flank to perfection, latching on to the ball after entering the box and curled it past Chennaiyin custodian Vishal Kaith.
Trailing for the first time this season, Bozidar Bandovic's team quickly upped their ante in search for a goal. Most of their attacks came from the flanks, an area of concerns for ATK Bagan defenders in recent games. So, a flurry of long balls from the feet of Aniruth Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte came lashing the green and maroon box, a number of corners ensued and Pritam Kotal had to effect a goalline save once and goalkeeper Amrinder had to stay alert in dealing with quite a few aerial threats.
However, ATK Bagan defence finally broke down in the face of Chennaiyin's relentless pressure in a manner which would have hardly made Habas happy.
Aniruth's quickly-taken throwin caught ATK Bagan decence napping and Koman made full use of it, blasting it past a hapless Amrinder.
The first half ended in a chaotic fashion when Deepak Tangri fell down under a strong challenge from Koman and ATK Bagan physio Luis Alfonso was sent off by referee Rahul Kumar Gupta for remonstrating with the match official.
ATK Bagan returned with the ambition of taking control of the proceedings and Krishna dodged past a couple of defenders to set up Hugo Boumous but the latter was wide of the mark.
However, true to Bandovic's plan, Chennaiyin's rearguard organization kept a close vigil on both Krishna and Boumous's movements, meaning Habas's team lacked the cutting edge in the attacking third.
Chennaiyin FC, on the other hand, grew in confidence and kept attacking the rival full-backs in their route to find the winning goal. Vanspaul came close twice to making Chennaiyin's second-half domination more meaningful. But another goal never came, leading to the stalemate.
Goa beat Bengaluru 2-1 in the other match of the day at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, Goa.
