Abahani Limited lost their AFC Cup 2022 play-off (South) match against ATK Mohun Bagan by 1-3 goals at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The Indian outfits’ Australian recruit David Williams scored a hat-trick while Abahani’s Costa Rican World Cupper Daniel Collindres scored the only goal for the visitors.
In the first 45 minutes, Abahani struggled to cope with the fast-paced football of their opposition and went into the halftime break trailing by 0-2.
Mohun Bagan took the lead in the sixth minute of the match when Finnish midfielder Joni Kauko crossed a ball to Williams inside the six-yard box, who just tapped the ball into the net.
The situation worsened for Abahani in the 23rd minute when their skipper and star forward Nabib Newaj Jibon left the field hurt. Winger Jewel Rana came on as his substitute.
The Mariners then doubled their lead in the 29th minute, when Williams again tapped the ball home. This time Prabir Das came up with the assist.
Mohun Bagan had 61 per cent possession of the ball in the first 45 minutes and Abahani central defenders Tutul Hossain and Milad Sheikh struggled to cope up with the Mohun Bagan attack.
Abahani coach Mario Lemos changed up his tactics for the next 45 minutes. Abahani played more attackingly, searching for goals to claw their back into the contest.
Their efforts bore fruit in the 61st minute when Collindres breached Mohun Bagan’s fort with a fierce right-footed shot from outside the six-yard box that the Mohun Bagan keeper couldn’t keep out.
Just minutes later, Abahani missed their opportunity to make it 2-2 when Jewel Rana missed an easy chance.
Abahani’s hopes of securing a draw were dashed in the 85th minute when Williams received a through pass from Boumous and made no mistake in guiding it to the back of the net for his third goal of the night.
With this defeat, Abahani have been eliminated from the AFC Cup 2022 while Mohun Bagan have booked their place in the group stage of the competition.