AFC Cup 2021: 4 things we learned from ATK Mohun Bagan's 1-1 draw against Bashundhara Kings
ATK Mohun Bagan played their penultimate group stage game against Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings. Both teams were unbeaten in the tournament so far and came into the game with a chance of making it to the next round. Only one team, though, was going to make it to the next round. The Mariners needed just a point to get through to the next round, while Bashundhara Kings needed a victory to make it to the competition's knockout stages.
The game started on a bright note for Bashundhara Kings as they piled on early pressure on the ATK Mohun Bagan goal. Jonathan Reis gave Bashundhara the lead in the 28th minute when he hit a low grounder that beat amrinder-singh" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amrinder Singh at the near post. Bashundhara Kings were reduced to ten men when Sushanto Tripura was shown a direct red card for a rash tackle on the stroke of halftime.
The scoreboard at halftime read 1-0 in favor of Bashundhara Kings.
ATK Mohun Bagan came into the second half all guns blazing. Playing against a ten-man Bashundhara side helped ATK Mohun Bagan in the second half.
David Williams finally rescued the Mariners with a goal in the 62nd minute to equalize.
The scoreboard at full-time read 1-1, and with that draw, ATK Mohun Bagan progressed to the next round of the competition.
On that note, let us take a look at four things we learned from today's game.
4 Rash tackling and lack of composure cost Bashundhara Kings the three points
Bashundhara Kings started the game very well and created many openings in the initial half an hour of the game. They even managed to take the lead in the 28th minute through a Jonathan Reis strike. After taking the lead, though, Bashundhara started playing a bit of a physical brand of football. The move helped ATK Mohun Bagan as they are known to be a side who like to play the physical game.
The Bashundhara players put in some rash tackles in the last 15 minutes of the first half, which resulted in one direct red card shown to Sushanto Tripura in added time of the first half. During that spell, Bashundhara saw three yellow cards, which put the final count of total yellow cards seen in the first half at four.
With ten men on the field, and four of them on a yellow card, Bashundhara really couldn't afford to go hard in the second half. That was the main reason the Bangladesh Premier League champions fell short and had to be content with a draw, which saw them crashing out of the AFC Cup 2021 edition.
#3 Amrinder Singh's near post howlers continue to haunt him
Amrinder Singh is one of the top goalkeepers in the country. He is currently the second-choice goalkeeper in the national team behind gurpreet-singh-sandhu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. After winning the Indian Super League last season, a lot was said about Amrinder Singh being the best keeper in the country.
While debate has ensued, there is little doubt that Amrinder has an issue with his near post. It is something that has haunted him for a couple of seasons now. While he has improved his overall skills as a goalkeeper, the problem with his near post keeps coming back to haunt him every now and then.
The goal he conceded against the Kings was of a similar nature. ATKMB head coach Antonio Habas would want to see his biggest domestic signing of the season do better and save those shots regularly. Amrinder needs to work on his near-post grounder saves if he intends to challenge Gurpreet for the number one spot in the national team.
2 ATK Mohun Bagan looks pale in midfield without Hugo Boumous
Hugo Boumous is a massive player for ATK Mohun Bagan. His absence will be felt by any football side in the subcontinent. Hugo was suspended for the game today due to his two back-to-back yellow cards in the last two games.
ATK Mohun Bagan missed their midfield general today and found it difficult to open up the Bashundhara Kings defense. As a result, ATK Mohun Bagan created much fewer openings today than their previous two games.
Antonio Habas will need to find specific alternative options for Hugo Boumous, or else ATK Mohun Bagan could find it difficult to beat opponents without the French midfielder.
1 ATK Mohun Bagan progresses into the knockout phases, Bashundhara Kings impress but bow out of the AFC Cup 2021 edition
ATK Mohun Bagan have progressed to the tournament's knockout phase by topping group D in the AFC Cup 2021 edition. The draw today ensured that ATK Mohun Bagan tops the group and makes it to the knockout stages.
Bashundhara Kings remained unbeaten in the AFC Cup 2021 edition but fell short of the qualification spot. The draw against Bengaluru FC in the last game and today hit them hard.
Oscar Bruzon, the Spanish coach, has done wonders with this Bashundhara Kings squad; remaining unbeaten against two of the top teams in the Indian Super League is a significant achievement for the champions of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Antonio Habas now has a challenging task on his hand as he faces the Central Asian champions in the next round of the AFC Cup. Both ATK Mohun Bagan and Bashundhara Kings finished unbeaten in the group stages