Atlético de Kolkata became the only team to qualify for all three semi-finals of the Hero Indian Super League. A picture of consistency, Kolkata have lost only twice this season so far, which is also a league record at this stage. They have also had the most number of draws this season (8), another league record at this stage. Be that as it may, the 2014 champions have shown great defensive grit and attacking flair at the same time. They qualified for the semis with a game to spare and as the fourth-placed team in the league stage, will now face table-toppers Mumbai City FC in the semi-finals. In all, ATK picked up 20 points from 14 matches, and indiansuperleague.com takes a look at the journey of Jose Molina’s men to the semis.Drew 2-2 vs Chennaiyin FC: Kolkata started off their campaign with a nervy draw against the defending champions. Sameehg Doutie gave ATK the lead in front of their home fans in the 59th minute before Jayesh Rane struck the equaliser for the visitors seven minutes later. Hans Mulder then gave The Super Machans the lead, and just when it looked like ATK would have a bad start to the league, they were awarded an 86th-minute penalty after Jerry Lalrinzuala brought down Doutie in the box. Iain Hume stepped up and made no mistake from the spot as Kolkata restored parity.Won 1-0 vs Kerala Blasters FC: ATK got their first win of the season thanks to a 53rd-minute Javi Lara strike that took a wicked deflection before entering the net. Kolkata then withstood a barrage of attacks to hand Kerala their only home loss of the season.Drew 1-1 with Mumbai City FC: Kolkata next travelled to Mumbai, and after falling behind to a 27th-minute Matias Defederico strike, managed to salvage another point thanks to an 83rd-minute Javi Lara goal. This was also the first time these teams played out a draw against each other.Drew 1-1 with FC Goa: ATK played out a second consecutive 1-1 draw when they hosted FC Goa in their second home game of the season. In a match that had plenty of chances at both ends and could have gone either way, Sameehg Doutie opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute, before Joffre scored from the spot in the 77th minute after Kolkata captain Borja Fernandez appeared to handle the ball in the penalty area. This match also witnessed a red card shown to each team: Stephen Pearson was sent off for Kolkata, while Sanjay Balmuchu got the marching orders for the Gaurs.Won 1-0 against Delhi Dynamos FC: Kolkata ended Delhi’s unbeaten run this season thanks to an Iain Hume penalty late in the match. Delhi themselves had earned a penalty but Marcelinho blasted his spot-kick over the bar. Kolkata got their penalty from their very next attack, and Hume made no mistake. With that goal, the Canadian became the highest goal-scorer in ISL history, and this turned out to be Kolkata’s only home win of the season.Lost 1-0 to Mumbai City FC: Kolkata’s unbeaten run came to an end with the defeat to Mumbai, which also turned out to be their only home defeat of the season. In a match where Kolkata wasted quite a few good chances, Mumbai’s marquee man Diego Forlan popped up with the only goal in the 79th minute.Won 2-1 against NorthEast United: Kolkata came from behind to beat the Highlanders in Guwahati. Emiliano Alfaro gave the home team the lead in the 39th minute before ATK turned on the screws in the second half and scored through Helder Postiga (62nd minute) and Juan Belencoso (82nd minute) to pocket all three points.Lost 2-1 to FC Pune City: FC Pune City got their first win at home after seven matches at the expense of Kolkata. Eduardo Ferreira put the Stallions in front in the 41st minute and Anibal Rodriguez converted a 56th-minute penalty to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Iain Hume’s 69th-minute strike for the visitors was not enough as Pune bagged all three points and handed ATK their first away loss.Drew 2-2 with Delhi Dynamos FC: In a high-voltage match that kept swinging from one end to another, Kolkata took the lead in Delhi thanks to Iain Hume’s calm finish in the 17th minute. Delhi were then left to play with 10 men on the field after Badara Badji got a red card in the 44th minute. Kolkata goalkeeper Debjit Majumder also saved a 60th-minute penalty from Florent Malouda. But the Lions got themselves back in the game through a screamer from Milan Singh. The visitors took the lead a second time thanks to a stunning strike from Javi Lara in the 72nd minute but Delhi restored parity two minutes later as Malouda made amends for his penalty miss with the equaliser.Drew 1-1 with NorthEast United: Next up for ATK were the Highlanders, and Nelo Vingada’s men took an early 5th-minute lead through Emiliano Alfaro. Kolkata, though, managed to sneak a late 90th-minute equaliser through Iain Hume and grabbed a point, much to the relief of their home fans.Drew 1-1 with Chennaiyin FC: ATK travelled to Chennai and got their second consecutive 1-1 draw. They went ahead thanks to Helder Postiga’s 39th-minute goal but some good amount of Chennaiyin pressure in the second half resulted in the Super Machans equalising through Davide Succi in the 77th minute.Won 2-1 against FC Goa: Kolkata got their fourth and final win of the league stage after pipping Goa at Fatorda. Juan Belencoso gave the visitors the lead in the 28th minute before Mandar Rao Dessai cancelled out that strike with a fine goal in the 80th minute. Kolkata though pressed forward and got themselves a winner in the second minute of injury time thanks to Stephen Pearson.Drew 1-1 with Kerala Blasters: Kolkata hosted Kerala in the penultimate match of the league stage. They went behind in the eighth minute to a CK Vineeth goal after a goalkeeping error. However, they got themselves an equaliser 10 minutes later through Stephen Pearson’s second goal in as many games. Neither team wanted to lose from there on, and it remained 1-1 at full time. With the draw, Kolkata secured themselves a semis spot with a game in hand.Drew 0-0 with FC Pune City: ATK’s last match of the league stage was at home to Pune. In a match that saw plenty of chances for the home team, ATK failed to capitalise and had to be satisfied with a point. That result, coupled with Kerala’s win over NorthEast, cemented a fourth-place finish for Molina’s men.
