ATK notched up their third win on the bounce in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 with a 3-1 victory over Jamshedpur FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday. The win also propels the Kolkata-based side to the top of the table heading into the international break.

At the post-match press conference, when asked about his feelings on topping the league table going into the break, ATK head coach Antonio Lopez Habas opined, “I have no interest in being the first team at this point of the league. But it is better to be the first than last. I am very happy with the performance of the team.”

Having lost their opening match against Kerala Blasters, ATK have engineered a strong comeback with three victories on the trot. Speaking about what has changed since the first match back in October 20, the Spaniard stated, “I think the team is more competitive now. I said after the first match, we have several new players in the team and they will take time to settle.”

However, despite the 3-1 win on the night, Habas was of the opinion that the team should have done better in the closing minutes – a phase of the match which saw them concede and make the victory a little more uncomfortable than it should have been. “From today’s match, I think, we needed to do better in the closing stages. When you are winning 2-0, you need more tranquility in the performance and win comfortably,” he said.

With the Hero ISL set for a brief pause owing to the international break, ATK will need to rediscover the momentum again once the league resumes. Asked if it was an inconvenient time for the break to set in, Habas remarked, “I think it is the same for all teams, just not ATK. We have to go, recover, clear our brains and continue performing (after the break). Football is a step by step process. Now, the victories are the past and we need to think about the coming matches. The team still needs to improve.”

Read the Match Report here.