Both ATK Mohun Bagan and Gokulam Kerala will be looking forward to starting their AFC Cup group stages campaign with a win. The teams face each other at the majestic Yubabharati Krirangan on Wednesday at 4.30 pm. Follow this space for all live updates from the match.
Live Blog
FULLTIME!
What. A. Win!!! Gokulam Kerala stuns the home team with a massive win. Fulltime: GKFC 4-2 ATKMB
90+5′ Yellow card
Joni Kauko gets into the referee’s book. GKFC 4-2 ATKMB
90+4′ Miss!
Jithin misses a sitter, as Ravi Rana intercepts the ball at the right time. GKFC 4-2 ATKMB
90′ Added time
Five minutes added. GKFC 4-2 ATKMB
89′ Four!
Jithin scores the fourth for Gokulam! Home crowd absolutely stunned! GKFC 4-2 ATKMB
87′ Constant Pressure
The Mariners apply constant pressure on the Gokulam defence in an attempt to find the equaliser. GKFC 3-2 ATKMB
82′ Close!
Sreekuttan goes 1-vs-1 with Amrinder and tries a cheeky finish, but his shot rolls wide. GKFC 3-2 ATKMB
79′ Freekick!!!
The Mariners awarded a freekick from around the 25-yards range. Liston fires it home as a comeback is surely on the cards. GKFC 3-2 ATKMB
76′ Substitution
Game resumes after another substitution. Ravi Rana comes on for Ashutosh Mehta, whereas Jithin replaces injured Fletcher. GKFC 3-1 ATKMB
74′ Injury
The referee halts the play for Fletcher, who lies down injured. Gokulam forced to make a substitution. Both teams go into the cooling break in the meanwhile. GKFC 3-1 ATKMB
71′ Brilliant Run
Sreekuttan with a brilliant run, but the attack fades off. GKFC 3-1 ATKMB
68′ Foul
Zaman gets booked for a foul on Liston. The Mariners get a free kick right outside the box. Liston fires the resulting freekick way off target. GKFC 3-1 ATKMB
65′ GOAL!
Luka scores his second and Gokulam’s third. The Malabarians are on fire! GKFC 3-1 ATKMB
63′ Substitution
Kiyan Nassiri replaces Lenny Rodrigues. GKFC 2-1 ATKMB
61′ Hattrick of corners
Gokulam wins three corners in the trot. Bouba meets the final one and heads the ball over. However, he gets injured in the process as his own man caught him from behind. GKFC 2-1 ATKMB
57′ Goal!
Rishad with the goal. Gokulam leads for the second time. GKFC 2-1 ATKMB
56′ End-to-end action
Two goals in quick succession have raised the temperatures on the pitch by a few bars. Scores level. GKFC 1-1 ATKMB
53′ Equaliser!
Pritam Kotal scores from the corner. We have a game on our hands now! GKFC 1-1 ATKMB
51′ GGOOOAAALLLL
Luka Majcen opens the scoring. Point blank shot, Amrinder had no chance. GKFC 1-0 ATKMB
49′ Freekick
Sharif’s freekick hits the wall. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
46′ Start of second half
The game kicks off for the second half. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
HALFTIME
Scores level at the end of the first half. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
45′ Added time
Four minutes added. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
42′ Corner
The Mariners win a corner. David Williams floats the ball in but Boubar clears – probably his 6th clearance in the match. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
39′ Forced Substitution
Ashutosh Mehta replaces injured Tiri, who had to be stretchered off. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
38′ Shot!
Williams cuts inside from the left-wing and attempts a curling shot with his right foot. The ball narrowly misses the target. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
35′ Tiri injured
Tiri suffers a huge blow. The physio signals the bench for immediate substitution. The Spaniard also receives a yellow card for the reckless challenge. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
32′ Gokulam Pushing forward
Gokulam on a quick break post the cooling break. Fletcher’s cross fails to reach any man in Maroon and Amrinder collects easily. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
29′ Kauko shoots
Joni Kauko shoots from the edge of the penalty box, but Rakshit Dagar saves comfortably. Time for a cooling break. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
25′ Cleared
A.Bouba once again clearing the threat for the Malabarians. Liston fails to control the rebound and the ball goes out for a Gokulam throw-in. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
24′ Foul
Emil Benny gets the first yellow card for a foul on Manvir Singh. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
18′ Save!
Amrinder forced to make a quick save from Fletcher’s shot. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
18′ Another miss
Roy Krishna shoots again, this time hits the upright. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
16′ Huge miss
Liston Colaco whips in a brilliant ball and finds Roy Krishna at the edge of the 6 years box. But the Fijian shoots it wide to the moons. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
12′ Double clearance
A.Bouba clears two crosses from the right-wing. The ball goes out for a throw-in. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
10′ Chip
Emil Benny tries to chip the ATKMB keeper, but the ball sails over the goal. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
09′ Foul
First foul of the afternoon. Simple one on David Williams. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
05′ Long Ranger
Roy Krishna surprises Rakshit Dagar with a long ranger. The goalkeeper fumbles but at last gets cleared. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
03′ Chance
ATK Mohun Bagan gets a set-piece chance and the ball gets floated into the box. Gokulam players collect and try to break on a counterattack. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
01′ Kickoff!
Kickoff at the Salt Lake. GKFC 0-0 ATKMB
Starting Lineups
Gokulam Kerala FC
Rakshit Dagar, Alex Saji, Aminou Bouba, Muhammad Uvais, Abdul Hakku, Rishad PP, Sharif Mukhammad (C), Emil Benny, Luka Majcen, Jourdaine Fletcher, Thahir Zaman.
ATK Mohun Bagan FC
Amrinder Singh, Prabir Das, Pritam Kotal, Tiri, Subhashis Bose, Joni Kauko, Lenny Rodrigues, Manvir Singh, David Williams, Roy Krishna (C), Liston Colaco.
Gokulam Kerala vs ATK Mohun Bagan: Preview
Gokulam Kerala FC makes their continental debut today against ATK Mohun Bagan FC. The Malabarians are in Red-hot form following their recent I-League triumph. Juan Ferrando’s men, on the other hand, will look to avenge a somewhat disappointing season by their standards.
Juan Ferrando seemed confident ahead of the much-anticipated match. “For us, it is important to have qualified, but it is also important to play well tomorrow. It’s important for my players to enjoy the game. Gokulam are in high performance, (but) we’ve had three weeks to put in the work, and I am satisfied with the preparation,” said Ferrando. “To play at home is amazing. The supporters are a big advantage, but on the pitch, we will be playing a strong team. We are working hard to be ready.”
ATK Mohun Bagan FC finished 3rd in the Indian Super League last season. But that doesn’t concern the Spaniard. “It’s not a disadvantage that the other three teams are champions of their respective leagues, we finished third, but we are a big team, with a very good squad,” added Juan.
Gokulam Kerala FC on the other hand, come fresh off their I-League campaign. They lost only once in the successful campaign and scored 44 goals throughout the league. The Malabarians became the first team to successfully defend the league title and will be looking to continue their momentum in the AFC Cup as well.
“We both have 11 players, everything is possible in football. We know the quality of their players, but I know my players well. We know our strengths and power, and we will play for the win,” said Annese, Gokulam Kerala’s coach.”Personally, I am a bit emotional, the budgets are different for ISL teams, and us. But budgets don’t matter to players, I am very involved in this game, commitment, and respect towards opponents are important but we will not make it easy for ATK. Tomorrow, we will play for a win,” added the Italian.
Live Streaming
The match will be telecasted on the Star Sports network JioTV and Hotstar.
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