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#4 David Addy vs Atletico de Kolkata
David Addy has had a stop-start campaign for the Delhi Dynamos this season. The former FC Porto left-back has been a regular from the bench, filling in the defence for the capital side often. Having played four games till date, David Addy would have a moment to remember after his introduction in the game against Atletico de Kolkata.
The Jose Molina-team had defeated the league leaders in the first leg, via an Iain Hume penalty. Playing at a brilliant tempo, the away side scored in the 17th minute, with Iain Hume again hitting the first nail in the coffin. With ATK being the better team throughout in the first half and some sloppy defending from the Delhi side, Zambrotta had a task at hand to ensure his team doesn’t lose and have a psychological disadvantage against the red-and-white striped team.
Going into the tunnel 1-0 down, the home side looked jaded with three of their first team regulars either on bench or out with injury. At half-time, Zambrotta played a wildcard in the form of Addy, moving Kim Kima to centre-back with Anas. Kim has been a little shaky throughout the tournament and the move could’ve backfired.
Luckily and tactically, it didn’t. Reading the game to the hilt, Zambrotta knew the presence of Borja in the middle would not give much space to operate, and thus, he wanted Addy to control proceedings from the left. The Ghanaian defender did not disappoint his gaffer. Making a lot of attacking runs, the full-back executed his role perfectly, creating panic in the ATK half.
While Milan Singh scored with a stunner in the 63rd minute after a 61st-minute penalty miss from captain Malouda, it was clear that the team had come in for a fight. Javi Lara scored a brilliant goal in the 71st minute for the visitors, restoring their lead by a goal.
Addy, who had been very influential but had nothing on the stats by now, picked out lone striker Malouda in the box in the 73rd minute from the left wing. The Frenchman did not make any mistake, and scored after a poor mistake from the ATK defence.
While the score remained 2-2 at the final whistle, Zambrotta re-iterated the importance of the single point his team got. Losing to the same rivals can be frustrating and psychologically killing in long tournaments, and such fightbacks are sure to help the team’s morale.
