Asansol’s Ritwik Das helped Jamshedpur FC (JFC) with a second-half winner to down ATK Mohun Bagan by a 1-0 margin and bag the ISL League Shield at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Monday.
JFC needed a draw to finish at the top of the table in ISL VIII and clinch the League Shield, and the Red Miners rode Das’s goal in the 56th minute to ensure they finish the season on a high, capping off a stellar campaign under Owen Coyle.
They finished with 43 points from 20 games, winning 13 games. ATK Mohun Bagan ended their league engagements with 37 points in their kitty from 20 matches.
JFC will take on fourth-placed Kerala Blasters FC on March 11 in the first semi final while ATK Mohun Bagan, who finished third, will square off with Hyderabad FC the next day in the second last-four clash.
Jamshedpur will get richer by Rs 3.5 crore, the prize money for the League Shield.
ATK Mohun Bagan needed to win 2-0 to leapfrog JFC and second-placed Hyderabad FC, but it was not to be as Das continued his purple patch with a strike after Greg Stewart did all the spadework.
The Mariners enjoyed more of ball possession in the initial exchanges, coming closest to breaking the deadlock when a wild attempt from Tiri went wide. The busiest person on the field was the referee as he reached into his pocket thrice, flashing yellow cards in the first half and all to JFC players.
