Joni Kauko and Manvir Singh scored a brace each while David Williams found the net once for ATKMB to book a meeting with Bangladesh outfit Abahani Dhaka.
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ATK Mohun Bagan thrashed Blue Star SC 5-0 in the preliminary leg of AFC Cup here at Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. Joni Kauko and Manvir Singh scored a brace each while David Williams found the net once to take the Mariners through to the AFC Cup play-offs stage, where they will meet Bangladesh club Abahani Dhaka at the same venue on April 19. The winner of the play-off will qualify for the group league stage of the competition. Meanwhile the Kolkata club played in front of a 25000 strong crowd for the first time since the merger.
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That’s that for tonight! ?♥️#ATKMohunBagan #JoyMohunBagan #AmraSobujMaroon #MarinersInAsia #AFCCup2022 pic.twitter.com/JGS5TjwdaT
— ATK Mohun Bagan FC (@atkmohunbaganfc) April 12, 2022
Although the Sri Lankan side came into the match as the underdogs, they could have easily taken the lead when Prince Boadu was through on goal but ATKMB goalkeeper Arsh Anwar made a brilliant save to deny the striker.
The visitors were quickly made to pay for the missed opportunity as Kauko opened the scoring at the other end. Hugo Boumous made a superb run from the midfield before Manvir and Kiyan Nissari saw their efforts blocked respectively but the second rebound fell to Kauko who made no mistake to score past the goalkeeper Kaveesh and into the back of the net.
Five minutes after the goal, Manvir doubled the lead. Deepak Tangri intercepts a ball in the midfield and sends it long towards Manvir on the right. The India international wins the aerial duel against defender Kajakopan before keeping his composure in a one-on-one situation with the keeper Kaveesh and scored ATKMB’s second.
Kaveesh was having a busy night as he was tested by Boumous before the referee awarded a penalty for the Mariners for a handball by a Blue Star defender inside the box. Kauko stepped up and converted the spot-kick to double the lead.
After the break, The Mariners didn’t take any unnecessary risks and kept the ball possession. Williams was denied by Kaveesh before ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando brought on two defenders Ashutosh Mehta and Ravi Bahadur in place of Kauko and Nissari.
With 13 minutes remaining, Manvir sends in a low cross from the right and Williams taps the ball in to make the score 4-0. And then, in the 89th minute, Manvir completes the drubbing with his second of the night. Manvir runs behind Fahir and latches on to a brilliant through ball by Boumous before scoring ATKMB’s fifth of the night past Kaveesh.
