Jamshedpur, Feb 9: A dominant ATK Mohun Bagan failed to utilise the chances that came their way as they played out a goalless draw against Jamshedpur FC in an Indian Super League match here on Thursday.
After the drawn match, ATK Mohun Bagan moved up to fourth place in the standings but remained just three points clear of the sixth placed team.
The Mariners attempted a total of 26 shots but could not find a way through the Red Miners’ defence.
The first half saw plenty of opportunities coming ATK Mohun Bagan’s way, but TP Rehenesh was on his toes to keep the deadlock intact at the break.
Kiyan Nassiri was lively on the pitch and his pull-back created the first chance of the match, which Carl McHugh could not keep on target.
Hugo Boumous missed the game because of an injury, so Federico Gallego retained his spot and almost created the opening goal for the Mariners when his cross was headed high up by Ricky Lallawmawma before Rehenesh got his body behind Glan Martins’ low shot.
At the other end, closing in on the half-hour mark, a defensive mix-up allowed Daniel Chukwu to have a crack at goal, but the striker opted to pass the ball through to Rafael Crivellaro and saw it get intercepted and booted to safety by Asish Rai.
Moments later, Rehenesh was called into action, blocking two back-to-back long-range efforts from Dimitri Petratos and Rai.
Seconds before the break, substitute Harry Sawyer played a low cross in the box from the left flank and placed it on a plater for Boris Singh. From point-blank range, the winger failed to hit the target.
Three minutes into the second half, Boris squared the ball into Jay Thomas’s path at the edge of the box. The midfielder took it first time and forced a decent save from Kaith.
Minutes later, Thomas unleashed another powerful strike, but it went straight at Kaith.
In the final minute, Jamshedpur FC applied pressure in the final third. The ATKMB defence failed to clear the ball as Thomas pulled the trigger and his shot bobbled off a defender and came to Chukwu right in front of goal. Kaith produced a brave save to deny the Nigerian what was one of the best chances of the game.
That save ultimately kept ATKMB from dropping any more points, but just one win from their last five games has put them in a position where they could get pulled into the battle for fifth and sixth positions as the season draws to a close.
Both the sides will face Hyderabad FC in their next fixture. The Mariners will visit the defending champions on February 14, while the Red Miners will also be on the road on February 18. (PTI)
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