ATK registered a vital 2-1 victory over fellow playoff hopefuls Jamshedpur FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharathi Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday.

The win takes Steve Coppell’s men level on points with fifth-placed Jamshedpur, as both teams find themselves three points adrift of the top four.

  • Manuel Lanzarote scored from a free-kick to put ATK in the lead on the 3rd minute
  • The Spaniard struck again on the 33rd minute from a similar dead ball situation to double ATK’s lead.
  • Mario Arques grabbed a consolation goal for Jamshedpur on the 82nd minute

With Steve Coppell stressing the importance of a victory prior to the match, it was evident that the hosts would start the match with an attacking intent and they didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough goal. Three minutes into the match, Edu Garcia went on a weaving solo run and won ATK a free-kick in a dangerous position. Lanzarote stepped up and struck an inch-perfect shot from just outside the box, which deceived Jamshedpur goalkeeper Subrata Paul and arrowed into the goal.

ATK continued pressing and causing all sorts of problems for Jamshedpur’s backline. Garcia and Lanzarote, in particular, wreaked havoc with their creativity and incisiveness. On the 33rd minute, the duo was once again in the thick of the action. Garcia again drew a foul from Jamshedpur just outside the box. Lanzarote once again displayed his astonishing abilities from dead ball situations and curled his effort into the top corner. ATK held on for the rest of the half and went into the break with a healthy two-goal cushion.

The second-half started slowly with neither side being able to truly impose themselves on the match. ATK were happy to sit back and relied on the likes of Garcia, Lanzarote and Everton Santos to counter attack. Jamshedpur tried hard to get on the front foot, but were unable to create any serious problems for the home team. The Miners struggled to make any inroads into the ATK backline as the absence of Michael Soosairaj and Tim Cahill’s directness was becoming evident as the minutes ticked away.

The trend, however, changed on the 74th minute after Jamshedpur head coach Cesar Ferrando brought on Jerry Mawhmingthanga in place of Farukh Choudhary. The fleet-footed youngster injected some much-needed pace in Jamshedpur’s forward forays and immediately drove ATK on the back foot.

The visitors finally started making a nuisance of themselves and Jerry really should have pulled a goal back when he found himself with space inside the box to pick his spot. However, the youngster’s shot smashed the woodwork before going out of danger.

Nevertheless, within a couple of minutes, Jamshedpur would finally get a goal back through Arques. The Spaniard got on the end of a cross from the left flank, before powering his header past Arindam Bhattacharja in the ATK goal. Incidentally, it was also the 900th goal in Hero ISL history but unfortunately for Jamshedpur, there wouldn’t be a 901st on the night.

Despite the away side’s frantic efforts to find a late equaliser, ATK held on to register their first-ever win over their east-coast rivals.

Hero of the Match - Manuel Lanzarote

Manuel Lanzarote once again proved why he is ATK’s most potent attacking force with his match-winning performance. His two free-kicks proved to be too good for Subrata Paul in the opposition goal and ultimately turned out to be the difference between the two sides on the night. He was rightly awarded the Hero of the Match.

MATCH AWARDS

Club Award – ATK

Swift Limitless Player of the Match – Edu Garcia

DHL Winning Pass of the Match - Edu Garcia

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Hitesh Sharma

Hero of the Match – Manuel Lanzarote

WHAT’S NEXT?

ATK will next travel to face FC Pune City on February 10, while Jamshedpur host Mumbai City FC on February 8.

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Jamshedpur FC 2018-2019Match Report