ATK Mohun Bagan will look to preserve the winning form and secure its second successive semifinal berth when it meets Chennaiyin FC in an ISL-8 fixture here on Thursday. A win will also see ATKMB, which regained its winning touch against Bengaluru FC, close the gap at the top and improve its chances of claiming its maiden league winner’s shield.
Remarkable run
The Kolkata giant has made impressive progress under Spanish coach Juan Ferrando and has remained unbeaten for 14 games, which keeps it in the second spot among teams making the longest undefeated runs in the tournament.
ATK Mohun Bagan currently enjoys the third spot with 34 points from 18 games and behind the current topper Jamshedpur FC (37 from 18) and Hyderabad FC (35 from 19). A point from the next match against eighth-placed Chennaiyin FC will be enough to see ATKMB through the play-offs but it needs more than a draw to keep the hopes of winning the league shield alive.
Ferrando has been troubled by recurrent injuries to the majority of his foreign attackers like Hugo Boumous, Roy Krishna, and David Williams but what has kept the team afloat has been the fine form of Indian forwards like Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh. And in the absence of the regular names in the creative zone, the Finnish midfielder Joni Kauko has shepherded the team with his fine play-making ability. ATKMB will be hoping that the attack combination comes good once again.
For the two-time champion Chennaiyin FC, the season turned sour in the second phase where it managed to win just once in the last nine rounds (it lost five and drew thrice). Interim coach Sabir Pasha would be hoping that his side is able to conjure a surprise in its final outing and upset ATKMB’s applecart.
