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Indian Super League final: Irishman Carl McHugh looks to celebrate St Patrick’s Day by winning ISL with ATK Mohun Bagan

The new champions of India are to be crowned on Saturday at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the country’s touristy coastal state of Goa where ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC bring to a close an exciting, and at times very controversial, 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season with an equally mouthwatering final.

Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan have taken the arduous route to the title decider beating regular season winners Mumbai City FC and runners-up Hyderabad FC in the semifinals of the play-offs. And if it is Kolkata outfit Mohun Bagan who come out of the tie as winners, it could be reason for Irishman Carl McHugh to celebrate St Patrick’s Day a day late and 5,000 miles away from home.

On St Patrick’s Day, we take a look at the former Republic of Ireland youth international’s eventful journey in the sport as he stands on the brink of winning the first silverware of his professional career…

Living the dream with Bradford City

A native of Lettermacaward in Ireland’s Donegal county, McHugh’s career took off when he moved to the south of England to sign for Reading FC as a 16-year-old. Signing his first professional contract with the Royals, the young defender spent brief spells at non-league Swindon Supermarine and then Dundalk in the Irish top flight before dropping a couple of divisions down to sign for Bradford City in League Two.

He honed his skills at Bradford helping them secure promotion in a historic 2012-13 season during which they also reached the final of the League Cup losing 5-0 to Swansea City at Wembley. “It is every little boys’ dream – and he did dream it. To think that he’d be doing it at twenty is the stuff of dreams,” McHugh’s mother, Mary, said back then.

The youngster’s next stop was at Plymouth Argyle where he established himself as a key cog in a side managed by his compatriot John Sheridan, a former Republic of Ireland midfielder.

More time on the playing field did not translate into sizeable rewards though for the centre-back during his first season with the Pilgrims, but after transitioning into a defensive midfield role during his second campaign under manager Derek Adams, McHugh took the Home Park outfit to the play-offs where they narrowly lost to AFC Wimbledon in the final.

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“I’m enjoying it, I’ve played the majority of the games in the midfield. I’ve grown into the position and I’ve got good players around me,” McHugh said in 2014.

A 23-year-old McHugh’s next destination was Scottish Premiership’s Motherwell where, in less than a year’s time, he was named the captain of the club — a testament to his influence on and off the field. He led Motherwell to the final of both the Scottish Cup and League Cup where they were denied the winner’s medal by Celtic.

ATK Mohun Bagan’s destructor-in-chief

McHugh’s first move out of Europe came in 2019 when he signed for ATK FC, a club in India’s ISL which was established only four years prior. He announced his arrival in style silencing 36,000 Kerala Blasters fans by scoring a stunning volley on his debut, but his season ended prematurely due to an injury and he only had a watching brief as his new side won the league title with a 3-1 defeat of Chennaiyin FC.

The following season, after the rebranding of ATK as ATK Mohun Bagan following their merger with the historic Mohun Bagan, McHugh starred in the midfield to guide them to a runners-up finish. “Irish, 28, tough, safe, dependable, dirty-when-needed, disciplined, ever willing to cover and plug holes, perfectly content not to leave his own half in open play,” that’s how ESPN described the defensive midfielder ahead of the 2021 ISL final.

The lanky midfielder not only destroys the opposition’s attacks and provides cover for the ATKMB backline, but he also stands out with his exceptional technique with the ball and ability to see the forward runs from his teammates and find them. Not to forget, his eye for goal. McHugh scored three goals in the ISL regular season this time taking the Green and Maroon Brigade to yet another final.

During a campaign where goals have been hard to come by for his side (they have only scored 26 goals in 23 matches) McHugh, with his midfield partners Glan Martins and Lalthathanga Khawlhring, have controlled the tempo of Mohun Bagan’s game and shielded Juan Ferrando’s backline — which emerged the second best defence in the league conceding just 17 times during the league phase.

Eye on the prize

ATK Mohun Bagan go into the final with plenty of confidence after holding high-flying Hyderabad FC scoreless for 180 minutes before knocking them out on penalties in the play-off semifinals. Standing between 30-year-old McHugh and the first silverware of his professional career is Bengaluru FC, who will be a tough nut to crack and is led by inspirational India captain Sunil Chhetri.

Coached by former Sunderland manager Simon Grayson, former winners Bengaluru have displayed tremendous grit to reach the final — including when Chhetri netted a controversial winner from a quick free-kick catching Kerala Blasters unawares in the play-offs which led to the opposition walking off and refusing to play the fixture with 26 minutes of extra time left.

McHugh will be tasked with the job of stopping Bengaluru’s creative fulcrum Javi Hernandez and disrupting their opponents’ play in what promises to be an edge-of-the-seat encounter on Saturday, but the midfielder is unperturbed by the task and will hope to make use of all his experience to get the victory.

“We know we haven’t achieved what we want yet. We are fully aware of the ambitions of the club and there is a focus within the group. We want to carry on the momentum we’ve had in the previous games and carry on winning,” McHugh said ahead of the title clash.

“We are here to win the final!” he declared.

Read more: Five promising Irish youngsters that you dont know about, yet 

Author

  • Adwaidh Rajan

    Adwaidh Rajan is a journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering sports. He has written for Indian newspapers The Times of India and The New Indian Express as well as websites like ESPN and FOX Sports Asia.

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