In the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Saturday, ATK Mohun Bagan defeated Bengaluru FC 4-3 on penalties after maintaining their composure in a closely played ISL IX final.
The announcement that many Mohun Bagan supporters were waiting for then arrived. The owner, a grinning Sanjiv Goenka, said that starting with the next season, it would be Mohun Bagan Super Giants rather than ATK Mohun Bagan.
“We are replacing ATK in the next season with Mohun Bagan Super Giants. We had everything planned out for a while and were just waiting for the proper moment,” Goenka said to the official broadcaster after the match.
In a game that finished 2-2 in ordinary time, Bagan’s Dimitri Petratos scored all three penalties he took on the night before Vishal Kaith’s save against Bruno Ramires’ attempt in the shootout pulled them one step closer.
Pablo Perez of Bengaluru FC then missed from the penalty spot as the Mariners secured the victory in a match they dominated from the off.
In the first few seconds of the game, Sivasakthi Narayanan had to be carried off on a stretcher, forcing Bengaluru FC to insert Sunil Chhetri early.
When Roy Krishna touched the ball after a Petratos corner in the 13th minute, Bagan was given a penalty and the game continued to go sideways.
Petratos completed the task right there to put his side in the lead. But, they were given a chance to come back when Subhasis Bose missed the ball and made contact with Krishna in the last minute of first-half stoppage time. To make things equal again, Chhetri moved forward and sent Kaith the wrong way.
In the final period of play, Krishna was waiting at the far post as Rohit Kumar’s drive from the outside of the box caused a succession of corners. Krishna then nodded the ball in at the 78th second.
Yet five minutes later, the score was even again. Kiyan Nassiri was struck by Perez at the outside of the Bengaluru box, and Bagan was awarded their second penalty. Petratos was there to score once again.
After the game, he added, “It’s a terrific feeling. Juan Ferrando, the coach, remarked, “Hard effort paid off. Captain Pritam Kotal was so ecstatic he could not talk, “I want to experience this moment,” he said.
Bagan certainly merits all praise for a season in which they were hampered by injury.
