KOLKATA: A brace from Dimitri Petratos helped ATK Mohun Bagan subdue Odisha FC 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, strengthening their position in the playoff roller-coaster of the ongoing Indian Super League.
Petratos scored in the third and 80th minute of the game as Juan Ferrando's side moved back to the third place with 27 points from 15 matches. However, Odisha FC's second successive loss, coupled with Bengaluru FC's win over Chennaiyin FC earlier in the day, saw the Bhubaneswar-based team drop out of the playoff spots with 22 points.
The only sore point for ATKMB in an otherwise perfect result was Ashique Kuruniyan's red-card in the 90th minute when he got involved in an altercation with Odisha defender Carlos Delgado, who was also booked in the process.
Having managed just one win in their past five matches, Ferrando's side has fallen off the pace of late. With the record-breaking Mumbai City (42 points from 16 games) and defending champions Hyderabad FC (35 points from 15 games) now in a virtual two-horse race for the coveted Winners' Shield, ATKMB's immediate goal was to ensure that their position in the playoffs was not further jeopardized.
They went about the job in earnest, scoring early and putting the visitors under pressure right at the outset. And the way they conceded the goal showed why their defence has now failed to keep a clean sheet in five games in a row.
Manvir Singh's cross from the right was pedestrian but Odisha defenders failed to clear it, allowing Petratos to drive home the opening goal in the third minute.
This was the quickest goal Odisha conceded so far this season. However, unlike the previous occasion when they overcame Daniel Chima Chukwu's third-minute goal to beat Jamshedpur FC 3-2 in their opening match back in October, they never looked good enough to take the contest back into ATKMB's court.
Hugo Boumous and his teammates, on the other hand, kept growing in confidence and Odisha had to rely on pluck and luck to keep the home team at bay until Petratos sealed the deal with 10 minutes to go from regulation time.
The Australian forward looked to be marginally in an offside position in the build-up to the goal but he came up with a perfect finish to Asish Rai's cross from the right.
