ATK rode on two Roy Krishna penalties and a late Edu Garcia strike to beat Jamshedpur FC 3-1 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday. The victory was ATK’s third successive win in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 and the three points see them climb to the top of the table with nine points from four outings. For Jamshedpur, on the other hand, it was their first loss of the campaign.

  • Jamshedpur FC’s Farukh Choudhary hit the crossbar in the 8th minute
  • Roy Krishna converted from the penalty spot in the 57th minute to give ATK the lead.
  • Krishna scored his second penalty in the 71st minute to double ATK’s advantage
  • Sergio Castel bagged the only goal for Jamshedpur in the 85th minute – again from the penalty spot – before Edu Garcia made it 3-1 for ATK in stoppage time.

ATK looked the more dangerous of the two sides in the early exchanges, with David Williams looking lively. The Australian could have very well bagged the opening goal as he closed down Subrata Paul during a clearance and almost got the ball into the net. The visitors, however, hit right back with a chance of their own. Piti showed some quick feet down the left flank and played an inviting cross into the danger zone. Farukh Choudhary got a good header in, but unfortunately, ended up hitting the crossbar.

As the match progressed, the home side started growing into the contest and began creating some dangerous chances, with their wide players – Michael Soosairaj and Prabir Das – starting to look increasingly menacing in the flanks. The away team was dealt a big blow just short of the 40-minute mark, with Piti needing to come off after sustaining an injury. He was replaced by fellow Spaniard Noe Acosta.

The home side tried to up the ante towards the end of the first-half and saw a penalty appeal turned down and Jayesh Rane hit it inches wide from range. The first period, however, ended goalless with everything to play for in the second-half.

With the rain lashing down at Kolkata, it was a scrappy start to the second-half with most of the action restricted to the midfield. Ten minutes in, however, ATK won a penalty after Tiri brought down Roy Krishna inside the penalty box. The Fiji international sent Subrata Paul the wrong way to break the deadlock.

Seconds later Javier Hernandez hit the side netting with a free-kick from just outside the Jamshedpur box, as the momentum seemed to have clearly swung ATK’s way post the opening goal. In the 69th minute, Krishna won himself a second penalty of the night, this time, after being tackled by Memo in the Jamshedpur box. The 2018-19 A-League Golden Boot winner converted similarly with his first try, but had to retake the spot kick as ATK players ventured into the box before the spot-kick was taken. The 32-year-old, however, was unperturbed and converted from the second try with equal authority.

Just as ATK seemed to have closed shop, the match was in for a twist. Another spot-kick was awarded – this time in the away side’s favour after Anas Edathodika’s infringement on Sergio Castel. Castel converted the chance in the 85th minute to set up a thrilling end to the contest.

Both sides created a flurry of chances in the final five minutes and added time, and the match witnessed the fourth goal courtesy substitute Edu Garcia in the dying seconds. The match ended 3-1 in ATK’s favour.

Hero of the Match – Roy Krishna

Roy Krishna’s drive and willingness to harry defenders proved to be the difference on the night, with the 32-year-old winning and scoring both the penalties for ATK. He topped off the performance with an assist to Edu Garcia in the closing stages.

AWARDS

Club Award – ATK

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match – Javier Hernandez

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Roy Krishna

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Isaac Vanmalsawma

Hero of the Match – Roy Krishna

Watch the match highlights here:

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Jamshedpur FC 2019-2020Match Report