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ISL 2020 -- Jamshedpur FC hand Mariners their season's first loss

Jamshedpur FC picked up their first win of the season in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 after beating ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Monday. Nerijus Valskis scored once in each half, while Roy Krishna netted ATK Mohun Bagan’s only goal of the night.

Jamshedpur began positively and pushed ATK Mohun Bagan back in the opening exchanges. They had a good opportunity to go in front in the 13th minute when the ball fell invitingly for Mohammad Mobashir on the edge of the box. Mobashir’s shot, though, was tame and easily saved by the goalkeeper.

ATK Mohun Bagan had their first shot of the game on target three minutes later when Edu Garcia tested the goalkeeper with a shot from distance. Valskis then had a good attempt on goal in the 26th minute when his powerful shot was blocked by Tiri.

Jamshedpur continued to apply the pressure and forced a goalline clearance from Pritam Kotal after Peter Hartley’s header from a corner required the Indian defender’s last-gasp intervention. However, all the early pressure by Jamshedpur paid off on the half hour mark when Valskis rose highest to produce a bullet header from an Aitor Monroy corner to give his side the lead.

Valskis was in the thick of the action again a few minutes later. This time his header from a cross forced ATK Mohun Bagan’s goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharja into a diving save. Mobashir also had the opportunity to double Jamshedpur’s lead on the brink of halftime but fortunately for the Mariners, Arindam was positioned well to save the goal-bound effort and ensure that Owen Coyle’s men led by just one goal at the break.

ATK Mohun Bagan had two big chances to score in the early stages of the second half. The first one saw Krishna’s outstretched leg fail to connect with a cross from the left, while the second attempt by the Fijian striker was on target and required Jamshedpur’s goalkeeper TP Rehenesh’s intervention.

Rehenesh was being kept busy and had to get down quickly to make another save in the 51st minute when Glan Martins let fly from distance. Valskis’ first attempt on goal in the second half came in the 65th minute courtesy a direct freekick that forced Arindam into conceding a corner. The resulting corner led to Jamshedpur doubling their lead after Mobashir’s flick on found its way to an unmarked Valskis, who made no mistake with a simple tap in to make it 2-0 for his side.

Just when it looked like Jamshedpur were heading to a comfortable win, ATK Mohun Bagan made things interesting with a goal from Krishna in the 80th minute. The Fijian striker had just the goalkeeper to beat after a flick on by Manvir Singh made its way to him and Krishna obligingly did the rest to halve the deficit.

The Kolkata giants nearly equalized five minutes later after catching Jamshedpur’s defence slightly on their heels with a blistering fast counterattack. Only heroic defending by Hartley ensured that Jamshedpur kept their lead intact.

Manvir then forced Rehenesh into a stunning save in the 89th minute. His powerful shot looked like it was heading into the roof of the net but a fingertip save by Rehenesh kept Jamshedpur ahead. The Indian striker was also inches away from equalizing with virtually the last kick of the game when his effort was just wide of the target as Jamshedpur held on to claim maximum points.

ISL Media Release


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