Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters Indian Super League match being played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Saturday.
HALF-TIME!!
Diamantakos and McHugh with a goal each for Kerala Blasters and ATK Mohun Bagan respectively to keep the scores level at 1-1 at HT.
45+1’
Diamantakos does well to find Giannou with a backheel. The latter goes for a first-time shot but blasts his effort above the bar. Giannou was leaning back slightly when he took the shot.
45’
Two minutes added at the end of the second-half.
43’
ATK Mohun Bagan is bossing possession at the moment and Kerala Blasters looking to play on the counter. However, ATKMB’s passing has mostly been sideways and backwards. Nothing substantial has come from the Mariner’s dominance on the ball.
41’
The tempo of the match has suddenly dipped at the moment but both teams will push for a goal before half-time for a precious lead.
38’
Ivan finds Diamantakos inside the box with a good pass. Diamantakos shoots at goal from a tight angle, which takes a deflection and goes out for a KBFC corner.
36’
Kerala Blasters finding it difficult to get out of its own half right now. The Mariners are pressing effectively whenever the Blasters have possession.
34’
Glan Martins puts his body on the line to block a shot by Ivan and it comes at a cost. He has gone down but it should be nothing serious. He just looks winded.
32’
Hamill make a good penetrative run from inside his own half. He releases the ball to Boumous, but the Frenchman, under pressure, loses the ball.
28’
Kerala Blasters were dominating the early minutes of the match and even scored the opening goal. But since, ATKMB’s equaliser, the Mariners look more likely to take the lead. The Blasters defence has been quite busy in the last few minutes.
26’
Booking: Rahul KP is shown a yellow card for a poor challenge on Boumous. This means he will be suspended for the next game.
23’
GOOOOALLLL!! ATK MOHUN BAGAN EQUALISES!! MCHUGH WITH THE GOAL!! Dimitri Petratos swings a pin-point cross inside the box and McHugh is there to head the ball inside the net.
21’
Booking: Subhasish Bose of ATK Mohun Bagan sees a yellow card.
20’
Close- Giannou comes close to scoring a second goal as he attempts an overhead kick in inside the Mariners box. The Blasters seem to be in the mood today.
16’
GOOOOALLL!! KERALA BLASTERS SCORES!! DIAMANTAKOS SCORES A SCREAMER!! Beautiful one touch football by Vukomanovic’s men. Giannou opens the ATKMB defence with a wonderful no-look pass and Diamantakos blasts the bll into the roof of the net with a first-time finish.
14’
Bryce swings a searching ball inside the ATKMB box from the left flank. Giannou rose to head the ball but could not get the desired contact. The Mariners clear the ball to safety.
11’
ATKMB has good support at the Salt Lake Stadium today. It has never lost to Kerala Blasters in the ISL. The Mariners will want to continue that run.
9’
Petratos swings a ball inside the box from an ATKMB corner but the ball goes straight to Gill, who catches the ball.
7’
Diamantakos makes another good run inside the box and looks to get a shot away at goal but Kotal puts in a good tackle to send the ball out for a corner.
5’
Nishu Kumar misses his header and Ashique is there to capitalise on the situation. He makes a run inside the box and tries to lift the ball over Gill. However, his lobbed effort is not on target.
4’
Boumous given time and space near the Blasters box. He shoots from the edge of the penalty-area, but it is straight at Gill.
2’
Close- Diamantakos makes a good run as he gets the ball inside the ATKMB box after a pass from Bryce. He shoots at goal but hits the side-netting.
1’
Probably the biggest match of ATKMB’s season so far. Juan Ferrando and his men need a win if they want to book that precious playoffs berth.
KICK-OFF!!
The ISL match between ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters kicks-off at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan
From the coach’s mouth!!
Juan Ferrando: “We are creating chances and I feel we are very close to scoring goals and we are very close to changing our situation because we are controlling games and if you keep working in the same way, you will certainly have success.”
Ivan Vukomanovic: “Both teams will be the same, maybe there won’t be the same lineups because both teams are missing some players. It’s a different dynamic now, it’s the end of the season now and back then it was the beginning of the season. There’s an accumulation of fatigue and different things so we might witness a different kind of game but again, both teams want to win, fighting for every duel and every ball. So I expect nothing but that.”
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters confirmed lineups!!
ATK Mohun Bagan: Vishal Kaith (GK), Asish Rai, Pritam Kotal (C), Brendan Hamill, Subhasish Bose, Carl McHugh, Glan Martins, Hugo Boumous, Ashique Kuruniyan, Manvir Singh and Dimitri Petratos.
Kerala Blasters: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Nishu Kumar, Ruivah Hormipam, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro (C), Jeakson Singh, Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, Bryce Miranda, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Apostolos Giannou and Dimitrios Diamantakos.
Match Preview
An injury-riddled ATK Mohun Bagan will be looking to rediscover its form as it takes on Kerala Blasters, in an Indian Super League (ISL) at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.
Having secured only four out of the possible 18 points in its last six outings (a win, two draws and three losses), ATK Mohun Bagan’s approach to the knock-out stage suddenly seems to have gone rudderless.
Injuries to its key foreigners appear to be the bane of ATKMB, which has not been able to find appropriate names from the bench seeing its performance going into a tailspin. ATKMB is currently placed fifth with 28 points from 18 matches and will continue to fall down the rungs if it fails to pick up enough points in its remaining two matches.
ISL 2022-23: ATK Mohun Bagan looks to rediscover form against already-qualified Kerala Blasters
With only two spots remaining vacant in the six-team knock-out stage, the host does not appear to have enough time to recover.
“This team needs to show character and it is a strong team. The recent results have been disappointing, but difficult situations provide the best moments to work on a plan for the future,” said ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando.
“We have to work together, follow the plan and forget about the previous results. That is what is best for the team. Everyone at the club wants to win the last two matches,” he added.
Ferrando had to do without the likes of Frenchman Hugo Boumous and India forward Ashique Kuruniyan in the past two matches. There is a possibility that the Irish midfielder Carl McHugh may have to sit out with an injury thereby increasing the challenge for Ferrando.
Unlike the host, Kerala Blasters has already ensured qualification to the knock-out stage after Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa on Thursday.
With 31 points from 18 matches, the third-placed Blasters will be looking to cement its position adding more points to its existing tally. The Yellow Army will also be looking at the opportunity to avenge the defeat it suffered against the same opposition in the first phase of the tournament.
Moreover, it will be a chance for the Blasters to find its first win against ATKMB having lost four and drawn once in the five meetings so far.
“Even last year we qualified for the playoffs in the last game or the game before that so we are used to the pressure. Of course, the circumstances yesterday (Chennaiyin FC’s win over FC Goa) helped us to qualify for the playoffs but we still have two more games where we want to be strong and show that we are capable of being in the playoffs,” Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic said about his team’s upcoming match.
The Blasters will be without their suspended Uruguayan forward Adrian Luna in the match against ATK Mohun Bagan.
-Amitabha Das Sharma
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters Predicted XI
ATK Mohun Bagan: Vishal Kaith, Pritam Kotal, Brendan Hamill, Asish Rai, Slavko Damjanovic, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Glan Martins, Federico Gallego, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Dimitri Petratos
Kerala Blasters: Prabhsukhan Gill, Nishu Kumar, Ruivah Hormipam, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro, Jeakson Singh, Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, Sahal Samad, Adrian Luna, Rahul KP, Dimitrios Diamantakos
When and where will the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match kick-off?
The ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match will kick-off at 7:30 PM IST, February 18 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
Where can you watch the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match?
The ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match will be live telecasted on the Star Sports Network.
Where can you live stream the ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match?
The ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters ISL match will be live streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website.
