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Roy Krishna powers ATK past Jamshedpur

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Kolkata, West Bengal: Roy Krishna excelled for ATK as they handed Jamshedpur FC their first defeat after a 3-1 result at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Saturday.

After a barren first half amid pouring rain in Kolkata, ATK surged to a 2-0 lead through two penalties, both converted by star striker Roy Krishna (57’, 71’). Though another penalty in the 85th minute saw Sergio Castel pull a goal back for Jamshedpur FC, the hosts sealed their third consecutive victory after Edu Garcia (90+1’) scored a late third.

The win sees ATK surge to the top of the standings with nine points from four games while Jamshedpur remain fourth with seven points on the Hero Indian Super League ladder.

The match got off to a lively start amid wet conditions in Kolkata and it was the away side who had the first real chance. Eight minutes into the game, Piti outfoxed Jayesh Rane on the left wing before finding Farukh Chowdhury with a cross. But the Indian forward’s header clattered back off the crossbar.

The tempo of the match slowed down after the first 10 minutes as Jamshedpur strangled ATK in midfield. But ATK continued to dominate the match with Michael Soosairaj troubling the Jamshedpur defence with some skillful dribbling and runs. However, the final delivery let him and his teammates down.

As a tightly-contested half wound down, David Williams created a couple of chances for ATK. In the 40th minute, he robbed Memo before playing Rane in with a brilliant backheel. But Rane’s shot was saved. Immediately afterward, Williams set Rane up again, but this time the latter’s shot missed the target by inches.

The second half saw ATK continue their dominance on the proceedings with Soosairaj, Krishna and Williams continuing to pose questions for the Jamshedpur defence.

Their efforts were rewarded 10 minutes into the half when Krishna embarked on a strong run through the middle, brushing away a couple of Jamshedpur players with ease. However, he was brought down by Tiri inside the box and the referee promptly pointed to the spot. The Fijian forward duly converted the spotkick, sending Subrata Paul the wrong way.

Krishna continued to be a thorn in Jamshedpur’s side with his strong runs and determined pressing. He won another penalty for ATK in the 70th minute when he received a lobbed ball, rode Tiri’s tackle and entered the box, only for Memo to bring him down. The forward made no mistake from the spot yet again as ATK doubled their lead.

But just as it seemed ATK were cruising towards a victory, Jamshedpur won a penalty. In the 85th minute, Noe Acosta went down under a rough challenge from Anas Edathodika during a corner routine, forcing the referee to award a spotkick. Sergio Castel promptly made it 2-1 to set up a grandstand finish.

ATK capitalised on the space left behind their opponents in injury time. Williams found Krishna on the break with a lovely cross-field pass. The Fijian sent Garcia through on goal with a first-time touch and the Spaniard chipped the ball into the back of the net to seal the victory.

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Indian Super League

ATK edge past Chennaiyin FC in hard-fought battle

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Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Chennaiyin FC’s poor start to their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) campaign continued as they succumbed to a solitary goal against ATK at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on Wednesday.

After a goalless first half, ATK took the lead in the 48th minute through David Williams, scoring the ISL’s 1000th goal in the process. The visitors proceeded to hold on to their advantage and inflict a second defeat on Chennaiyin, who are yet to score this season.

The result sees ATK join Jamshedpur FC at the top of the table with six points from three games, while Chennaiyin remain eighth with just a point.

Though the teams started with intent, it was the home team who had the best of the chances in the opening period. Edwin Vanspaul found Nerijus Valskis with a cross in the third minute, only for the Lithuanian striker to head it over.

A deflection five minutes later sent Lallianzuala Chhangte in space down the left. His ball across the face of goal, however, could not be turned in by his teammates

Chennaiyin continued to fashion chances but ATK had some of their own. Michael Soosairaj took matters into his own hands with a surging run and found David Williams in space. Javier Hernandez was able to get a shot away from Williams’ cutback but saw it blocked by defender Lucian Goian.

Just past the half an hour mark, Roy Krishna found himself in space just outside the area and unleashed a rasping drive which was blocked by Goian again.

After a goalless opening 45 minutes, the visitors drew first blood three minutes after the restart with Prabir Das doing exceptionally well to get behind the defence down the right flank before finding Hernandez. The Spaniard’s shot was deflected into the path of Williams who slotted it in to stun the home team.

As expected, Chennaiyin mounted a fightback with coach John Gregory throwing on Andre Schembri in place of Dragos. Around the hour mark, Edwin unleashed a powerful drive from distance that had Arindam Bhattacharya scrambling. A minute later, good interplay between Chhangte and Rafael saw the latter get to the byline and slide a ball across but nobody in a blue shirt could get a decisive touch.

Shortly afterwards, ATK were forced to tweak their game plan after Soosairaj went down with an injury and coach Antonio Habas responded by sending in Jayesh Rane.

Chances continued to stream in for Chennaiyin but they let themselves down with their finishing. In the 72nd minute, a good bit of play between Thapa and Schembri saw the latter find space to shoot but he dragged his effort wide. A minute later, Rafael’s cross was deflected goalward by Pritam Kotal but Arindam got down smartly to save.

The Marina Machans continued to pile the pressure on a rock-solid ATK in a bid to find an equaliser. But they were frustrated by a well-drilled defence as ATK returned home with three points.

(ISL Media)

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Indian Super League

5-star ATK hand Hyderabad a tough introduction

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Kolkata, West Bengal: ATK got over their disappointment in the season opener with a dominant 5-0 win against Hyderabad FC in a Hero Indian Super League clash at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium here on Friday.

Debutants Hyderabad FC struggled to contain the ATK attack consisting of Roy Krishna and David Williams who opened their accounts for the season. Williams opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a neat finish before Krishna doubled the lead two minutes later with a long-range effort. The Australian forward notched his second goal in the 44th minute to make it 3-0 and to late strikes from Edu Garcia (88’, 90+4’) completed an emphatic win.

The 5-0 result was also ATK’s biggest win at home.

ATK’s gameplan was evident right from the start. They were quick to get on the ball and build attacks. The wave of pressure from the hosts pinned the visitors into their own half and it soon paid dividends.

Hyderabad, who had to replace an injured Rafael Lopez with Marko Stankovic midway through the half, succumbed to the brilliance of the ATK duo of Roy Krishna and David Williams. In the 25th minute, Javier Hernandez fed Williams in behind the defence and the forward, who beat the offside trap, executed a fine finish.

Two minutes later, Williams found Krishna in plenty of space outside the box and the Fijian striker’s firm low shot took a slight touch off goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh’s gloves before rolling into the net.

Hyderabad’s front line of Robin Singh, Giles Barnes and Marcelinho were monitored and kept in check by ATK’s astute three-man defence throughout the first half.

At the stroke of half-time, Williams once again broke free from the offside trap to latch onto Jayesh Rane’s through-ball and finished well past the goalkeeper to make it 3-0 at the half-time whistle.

Michael Soosairaj, who looked threatening from the left wing-back role, embarked on a mazy run from his own box following a Hyderabad corner-kick after the break. The former Jamshedpur winger beat two players on his way up the field, but failed in his attempt to set up Roy Krishna and a dangerous attack came to an abrupt end.

Soosairaj had another shot at the goal after the hour-mark as ATK continued to cruise. Hyderabad were all at sea against an intelligent ATK side.

Substitute Edu Garcia added two more goals to complete Hyderabad’s humiliation. Prabir Das dribbled into the box from the right flank and drilled a ball across the face of the goal in the 88th minute for Garcia to tap in. The duo combined again as the Spaniard headed in Das’ incisive cross in added time to seal the demolition job.

(ISL Media)

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