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ATK will be relived as they finally bagged three points at home for the first time in the season. The hosts scripted a 2-1 victory over defending champions Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday evening. Nigerian Striker Kalu Uche gave ATK the lead in the 3rd minute while John Johnson made it 2-0 in the 13th minute.
Although Chennaiyin FC pulled back one a few minutes later, ATK managed to grab all the three points on offer. While ATK have gone back to winning ways, the defending champions are still winless in this season so far. Nevertheless, the clash between two of the most successful teams in the history of the ISL was an exciting one.
There have been a few notable performances in the match, with some being very disappointing. Let us have a look at the five hits and flops from the match:
Flop- Pronay Halder
The energetic central midfielder disappointed today as he was never in the game. On top of that, he conceded a needless yellow card for an unnecessary challenge. He lost his cool on several occasions and never seemed to get a grasp on the game. The footballer is very prone to committing fouls and often ends up getting booked.
There was no structure in his game and he hardly made any difference on the field on Friday. In fact, ATK did not create many chances in the match apart from the two goals. The first goal was the outcome of a defence lapse while the second one was from a set piece.
So, to sum it up, ATK’s midfield was pretty dull apart from Manuel Lanzarote’s efforts. Komal Thatal and Balwant Singh tried their best from the wings but there were not enough buildups in the play to create danger. Pronay Halder is a much better player, hopefully, he will play his natural game from the next match.
Hit- Gerson Vieira
The Brazilian defender was once again the man in command at the back. Along with John Johnson, the duo form a lethal shield which is hard to penetrate for any striker. Gerson was incidentally the initiator of the move which led to the first goal for ATK. While clearing the ball he headed it straight towards the other half. Kalu Uche smartly received the ball on the other end and slotted it past the keeper to take the lead.
Gerson was influential at the heart of the defence throughout the match. It was due to his brilliance that the visitors were denied to score the equaliser several times. In spite of his heroics, ATK somehow managed to concede a goal in each of the five matches they have played.
It will be a big worry for them and an area which Steve Coppell should think about. Even though Andre Bikey is at their disposal, it should be taken care that they do not concede goals with such experienced defenders in the squad.
Flop- Thoi Singh
The playmaker was a total mess on Friday evening. He was marked by Brazilian defender Gerson Vieira and never looked lethal in the entire match. The moves by him down the wings were also pretty ordinary, and he made no such effort to build up the play. Thoi Singh is a promising young talent, but it was not his day.
He even failed to connect the cross made by Isaac in the latter part of the game. A simple tap would have been enough for Chennaiyin FC to get the equaliser and also a vital point from the crucial away fixture.
After conceding two early goals within the first 15 minutes of the game, Chennaiyin FC gave a quick reply by scoring the first one. But never quite got the second one. This loss meant even more danger for the Chennai based team. They are now still placed at the 9th position in the league with just a single point from 5 matches.
Hit- Carlos Antonio Salom
The forward was a much talked about a player after his string of poor performances in the earlier matches, but he made his presence felt against ATK on Friday evening. After conceding two early goals, the visitors were on the back foot, but the Argentine came to the rescue.
An excellent cross from Francisco Fernandes was headed perfectly by Salom at the far corner of the target to pull one back for the Chennai based team. Since then, the visitors played dominating football and even came close to score on a few occasions.
Salom was the epicentre of the majority of the attacks and was showing great intent in the attacking half. In the dying minutes of the match, he floated the ball with a header towards the target but it somehow edged past the target narrowly. With just a single point in their kitty, Chennaiyin FC will bank on Salom to score as many as possible in the remaining matches.
Hit- Kalu Uche
The Nigerian was a major signing for ATK this season, but he was out of action in the first two games due to an injury. He finally made a start against Delhi Dynamos FC but failed to get his name on the score sheet. He had to wait for a while to finally get back his lost touch.
On Friday evening, he once again proved himself. It was as early in the third minute that he scored for his side after a loose ball fell for him in front of an open goal. He made no mistake to place the ball inside the net past goalkeeper Karanjeet Singh.
The African scored 13 goals in the last season but couldn’t quite guide his team to the knockout stages last season. He will shoulder the burden of scoring regular goals for ATK in the remainder of the season. Kalu is an experienced player and Steve Coppell will be expecting him to perform consistently in the next set of matches.
