ATK picked up their first victory in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 after a convincing 5-0 win over Hyderabad FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday. David Williams scored a brace and Roy Krishna got his first goal for the club in the first-half. Super sub Edu Garcia then came off the bench to score twice towards the end of the second period.

  • David Williams scored a brace with two composed finishes for ATK in the first-half.
  • Roy Krishna scored his first Hero ISL goal in the 27th minute.
  • Super sub Edu Garcia made a big impact with two goals off the bench.
  • Hyderabad suffered constant disruptions with several of their players picking up knocks.

The hosts made a lively start to the contest with Jayesh Rane getting the first shot of the game away within the first minute itself. ATK continued to push and almost forced Hyderabad’s skipper Kamaljit Singh into a big error after he received a back pass. Williams closed him down quickly and blocked Kamaljit’s attempted clearance, but luckily for the goalkeeper, the ball wasn’t goal-bound after ricocheting off the Australian.

Williams was at it again in the 11th minute with a shot from distance this time around. Kamaljit, though, was positioned well in goal and parried the ball away from danger.

Another effort from distance eight minutes later – by Michael Soosairaj on this occasion – struck the woodwork as the home side continued to threaten.

Jayesh Rane was the next ATK player to try his luck at goal but Kamaljit got strong hands on the shot to keep the hosts at bay.

Hyderabad’s resistance came to an end in the 25th minute courtesy of Williams. He was played through on goal by Javier Hernandez and the Australian frontman did the rest with a composed finish to break the deadlock. Williams’ strike partner Krishna got himself on the score sheet just a couple of minutes later with a shot from distance that touched both Kamaljit’s fingertips and the inside of the post on its way into the goal.

ATK refused to take their foot off the pedal after going 2-0 up and as a result, kept creating chances at regular intervals. They made it 3-0 on the brink of half-time after Williams was put through on goal again. Once again, the Australian made no mistake with a clinical finish straight through the goalkeeper's legs.

Williams could have even had a hat-trick before half-time if only he could put the finishing touch to a wonderful cross by Krishna. However, he couldn’t sort his feet out in time to produce the required connection as ATK went into the break with a 3-0 lead.

The first chance of the second period went Hyderabad’s way but ATK’s custodian Arindam Bhattacharja dealt with the danger with conviction. Apart from the one attack, the hosts were well and truly in control of the game. Soosairaj looked in the mood for more goals and took two shots from range without much luck.

Hyderabad’s night went from bad to worse as their players continued to succumb to injuries. Phil Brown's men had to play the last 15-or-so minutes of the game with 10 men having already used up all their substitutes to cope with knocks.

ATK took advantage of their numerical advantage and added a fourth goal two minutes from full-time after Garcia. a 70th-minute substitute, smashed Prabir Das’ cross from the right into the net. Garcia then got his second of the night after heading home a well-measured cross from the right to help ATK make a statement and send a message to the rest of the league.

Hero of the Match – David Williams

David Williams almost single-handedly wreaked havoc, tormenting Hyderabad FC’s backline. The Australian striker scored twice in the first half and also provided the assist for ATK’s other goal in the opening period.

AWARDS

Club Award – ATK

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match - Edu Garcia

DHL Winning Pass of the Match - Javier Hernandez

ISL Emerging Player of the Match - Michael Soosairaj

Hero of the Match – David Williams

Watch the match highlights here:

Related tags:

Hyderabad FC 2019-2020Match Report