Atlético de Kolkata were held to their third draw of the 2016 Hero Indian Super League on Sunday evening. Against last year’s runners-up FC Goa at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata, the hosts started the game brightly and took the lead in the sixth minute courtesy of a Sameehg Doutie screamer from the edge of the penalty area. Both Stephen Pearson and Sanjay Balmuchu were sent off by the referee before former ATK midfielder Joffre scored the Gaurs’ equaliser from the spot to make it 1-1.The draw leaves the winners of the inaugural Hero ISL season third in the table with six points from their four matches so far. Head coach Jose Molina though wasn’t too downbeat about his second successive draw at home. “Of course, the bad thing is that we again didn’t win at home but the good thing is we didn’t lose. Of course we try to improve because we want to win but okay, one more point, 10 more matches still to play, five more matches here at home. Now we have to work towards the next match thinking what we did well, what we did bad and what we have to improve,” he told reporters after the match.The hosts, however, looked on course for their first win at home by controlling the game and keeping possession for most part of the match. A penalty in the 76th minute, however, changed all that, allowing Joffre to cancel out Doutie’s goal. Molina conceded that while he didn’t think it was a penalty, there was no point in dwelling on the past.“I didn’t see from the dug-out, I didn’t see on TV. Borja told me that it was something unlucky, you know. He didn’t want to touch the ball. I think it’s not a penalty. It was very difficult for us because at that moment we were playing better. At that moment we were playing really well, we were defending well, attacking well with good situations,” said Molina.He continued: “At that moment I think we had the game under control and victory in our hands and finally we lost that situation but now we can do nothing other than work, think about the next match and try to win the next match. “When asked if the absence of key individuals like marquee player Helder Postiga and Tiri was hampering his side’s progress, the 46-year-old said: “Of course, injuries are something we don’t want to have. I would love to have all my players available for the matches but injuries are something that happen. But I’m really happy with the players who are playing now, happy with Iain Hume, Javi Lara. Abinash Ruidas did a great job today and Henrique Sereno, who started today, also did a great job. There are 25 players in the roster of the team and I have confidence in all of them. We have enough players to play well and I have full confidence in the team. “Meanwhile, FC Goa head coach Zico was happy to at last have earned their first point of the season after three straight defeats. “I am very pleased with my team. Even though we conceded in the first few minutes we played some good football after that and did our best. We took a lot of risks to win the game. ATK have a lot of good players overall but we gave our best to get a positive result,” the Brazilian legend said.“I am very happy the way the team performed today. Tomorrow is another day so I am happy with my team because they showed determination and showed that Gaurs are a good team, a strong team.”
