ATK’s worst start to a Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season was stopped in its tracks as Steve Coppell’s determined side edged Delhi Dynamos FC 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. The opening match after the first international break of the season lived up to all its expectations, with both sides willing to fight till the end.

  • Balwant Singh’s brilliant curled effort gifted ATK the lead in the 20th minute.
  • Pritam Kotal pulled one back for the Lions after the break in the 54th minute.
  • Super-sub Maimouni Noussair won it for the visitors with a sublime strike in the 84th minute.

Going into the match having remained unbeaten at home for six encounters, Delhi looked up for it yet again, dominating possession and dictating the pace. ATK, despite not having the ball, created the better of the chances with Balwant and former Delhi striker, Kalu Uche failing to convert their half chances from inside the box.

Keeping up with their coach’s idea of playing from the back, Delhi almost found themselves behind when a sloppy ball from goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro left Uche in a one-on-one situation with a defender, but the custodian rectified his mistake by denying the Nigerian eventually.

The away side’s masterplan looked to be working with each passing minute. Set up in an orthodox 4-4-2, Delhi’s defence finally gave way when they gifted ATK the ball in their own final third. The dangerous Manuel Lanzarote released Balwant Singh with a defence-splitting pass, who chopped back on his right to curl in his side’s first goal of the season. Thereafter, Delhi found it difficult to break ATK’s compactness, with the visitors entering the break happier of the two.

With no space to work with in between the lines, Josep Gombau’s side turned to the wings in the second half, hoping to cut through ATK’s rigidness. The home side’s equalizer came from a cross as Narayan Das’ deep corner found Rana Gharami’s head, whose clever knock-back was converted with ease by an alert Kotal.

As both teams chased a crucial winner, the match became more open with Delhi playing on the front foot and ATK on the counter. The away side did well to not go behind ten minutes later when Marti Crespi’s stinging drive was parried away by Arindam Bhattacharja, with Nandhakumar Sekar smashing his drive over the crossbar.

With six minutes to go, the Dynamos were finally found wanting when Lanzarote freed a charging Jayesh Rane, who found Noussair free at the edge of the box. The substitute made no mistake and slotted home a neat finish into the bottom right corner. ATK had the chance to extend their lead deep into added time, but Noussair’s strike proved the difference giving them their first points this season, breaking the Lions’ unbeaten streak at home in the process.

HERO OF THE MATCH

The rampant Indian forward produced a masterful all round display to propel ATK to their first win of the season. Playing on the left-hand side of the ATK attack, Balwant curled an absolute gem to assert his side’s dominance early in the first half. Tracking back with seven tackles and helping his defenders with three clearances, Singh will surely be proud of his display on the night.

MATCH AWARDS

Club Award – ATK

Swift Limitless Player of the Match – Pritam Kotal

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Jayesh Rane

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Komal Thatal

Hero of the Match – Balwant Singh

WHAT’S NEXT?

ATK will be hoping to build on this win as they travel to Jamshedpur to take on Jamshedpur FC on Sunday, while Delhi will be on the road to Kochi where they play Kerala Blasters FC on Saturday.

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2018-2019Match Report