David Williams scored a gem of a goal in the 33rd minute as ATK Mohun Bagan got the better of Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League VII at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Monday.

The Australian’s super strike was his first of the campaign and that was enough to inflict on Bengaluru FC their first defeat of the season.

ATK Mohun Bagan remained behind Mumbai City on goal difference despite being on 16 points from seven matches. Bengaluru FC stayed third with 12 points.

ATK Mohun Bagan looked threatening from the start and had good opportunities to convert their dominance into goals. But Manvir Singh saw both his efforts easily saved by rival goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh during the first quarter.

In the 11th minute, Subhasish Bose drilled in a low cross for Manvir, who got the better of Rahul Bheke, but could not beat an alert Gurpreet. Then came the second attempt. Manvir was set up by an Edu Garcia sublime through ball and Gurpreet once again was equal to the task. In between, Sunil Chhetri did test ATK Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya but the latter did not have any difficulty.

Soon, Antonio Lopez Habas’s men deservingly took the lead. Williams opened his account this season with a stunning goal, displaying composure and class. Carl McHugh found him with a long ball, which he controlled with an excellent first touch. Williams then evaded a host of Bengaluru FC players, created room for himself and unleashed a booming shot into the top-right corner from the top of the penalty box. Gurpreet couldn’t get his hand to the ball despite diving full length.

The home side resumed from where they had left off and Williams nearly doubled the lead early on in the second half. Roy Krishna showed his strength on the left and made a run inside the box and set up the Australian. But the attempt narrowly sailed over the bar.

Bengaluru FC had a glorious chance to restore parity in the 73rd minute. A poor goal-kick from Arindam set the rivals on the attack. Leon Augustine found Suresh Wangjam on the right side and the latter cut it back to Cleiton Silva. Silva should have scored from touching distance but instead shot wide.

At the other end, Gurpreet came up with another fine save to deny Manvir.

Bengaluru pushed hard for the equaliser but the ATK Mohun Bagan defence was at their best, as they helped their team hold on to the one-goal advantage.