Riding on their consecutive I-League victories, Gokulam Kerala FC beat ATK Mohun Bagan 4-2 in a thrilling six-goal debut on their AFC Cup debut at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Wednesday.
In a battle between the two stalwarts of the top-tier ISL and the second-tier I-League, Gokulam Kerala displayed a much more compact and technical performance than Bagan.
After winning an unprecedented I-League double at the same venue last Saturday, Gokulam Kerala led the way with their Slovenian centre-forward Luka Mazsen (50′, 65′) hitting a brace.
Rishad Puthanveetil (57) and substitute Jitin Subran (89′) slammed one each to clinch three points and give a reality check to the ISL legends and local favourites.
Mohun Bagan showed some spark with goals from Pritam Kotal (53′) and Liston Colaco (80′), but their defense in the absence of Sandesh Jhingan and Tiri, who were ruled out with injuries in the 40th minute Broken. Second quarter.
The win gave the Malabarians an early advantage in securing the only available berth from Group D for the AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-finals.
Playing in front of strong home support, ATK Mohun Bagan missed many chances to dominate in the first half.
Fijian star centre-forward Roy Krishna squandered back-to-back chances in the 18th minute – first off Liston Colaco’s cross and then with an assist from Joni Kouko, when the ball came out from inside the post.
In the 29th minute, Couco fired a shot on target from inside the box, but the Finnish midfielder hit Rakshit Dagar straight as Gokulam Kerala worried moments to begin with.
The two-time I-League champions were cautious to start with their first appearance in the continental showpiece, which did not result in a goal in the first half.
For the Mariners, who had crashed out of the inter-regional semi-finals in the previous edition, they had few chances as the tables changed after the break.
Vinsanto Alberto Anez-coached team struck three times in the span of 11 minutes and almost ended the game.
Gokulam’s in-form Mazasen, who was the team’s top scorer (13 goals) in the I-League, led his second-half domination to force Mohun Bagan’s defence.
It was Emil Benny who started it from outside the box to pass Tahir Zaman on the right, setting it up for a strong end from Mejsen.
In the action-packed second half, it took Mohun Bagan just three minutes to equalize when Colaco’s corner found Kotal just in front of the goal.
Four minutes later, their I-League eventual hero Rishad slipped into the left-bottom corner from a brilliant counterattack.
Mazsen completed his double after Jourdain Fletcher gave the Slovenian a through ball to win off substitute Ashutosh Mehta, who drew it 3-1.
Colaco narrowed the margin with a surprise freekick to give the crowd a glimmer of hope, but Jitin came off the bench to seal the issue in Gokulam’s favor with Mejsen scoring a one-two goal.
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