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ATK booked their berth in the quarter-finals of the Hero Super Cup with an impressive 3-1 win over I-League debutants Real Kashmir FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Monday night.
Steve Coppell's men left it late to unleash their attacking prowess as they emerged comfortable winners in the end, despite the game proving to be cagey and scrappy right from the get-go.
Balwant Singh opened the scoring for the ISL giants in the 26th minute when he found the back of the net with a header following a searching cross from Manuel Lanzarote.
However, the lead lasted for just five minutes as Mason Robertson restored parity for the Snow Leopards with a sublime finish to the bottom right corner from just outside the penalty area.
Both teams headed into the half-time interval level pegging, after resorting to being cagey in the middle of the park and not allowing their opponents the slightest of chances to punish them.
ATK were rejuvenated after the break and continued to dominate the lion's share of possession in their efforts to try and restored their lead over David Robertson's side.
Their persistent efforts to try and unlock the Real Kashmir defence finally paid off in the 79th minute through Lanzarote, who scored with a spectacular volley from outside the box, after Edu Garcia had pinged him the ball from a corner-kick routine.
The two-time ISL champions put the result beyond any doubt when second-half substitute Everton Santos came off the bench and scored with his first touch of the game in the 83rd minute to cap off their brilliant display.
ATK will now face Delhi Dynamos FC in the quarter-final of the Hero Super Cup and without further delay, let's take a closer look at all the major talking points from the round of 16 clash between the Kolkata giants and Real Kashmir:
#1 Individual errors and technical brilliance sink Real Kashmir
It was always going to be a mammoth task for Real Kashmir FC to pull off a win over ATK considering the gulf in class between both sides on paper.
And although football matches are never won on paper, you would still think David Robertson's men knew the magnitude of the task they had in their hands at the Kalinga Stadium on Monday.
There were no favours whatsoever for Real Kashmir and even lesser margin for error as David eventually succumbed to the Goliath in ATK, who were far more superior technically as well as mentally on the night.
The I-League debutants were undone by two individual errors from Aaron Katebe that came either side of a moment of spectacular technical brilliance from Manuel Lanzarote.
Katebe failed to deal with Lanzarote's cross and subsequently allowed Balwant Singh to outfox him in the buildup to the opening goal, while it was another error in judgement from the defender that helped Everton Santos score with his first touch after coming off the bench.
Real Kashmir FC wore their heart on their sleeves, but they were served a timely reminder by ATK, who proved the best teams make a meal out of even the half-chances that pop up on their radar, at the end of proceedings on the night.
#2 Robertson Jr. shines through the dark clouds of defeat
Mason Robertson was Real Kashmir FC's best player on the night by a country mile and deservedly bagged his fifth goal of the season in emphatic fashion, just five minutes after Balwant Singh had opened the scoring for ATK.
The 25-year-old was deployed just behind Abednego Tetteh and caused a few problems to Andre Bikey with his pace and directness early on in the first half.
Robertson started positively with a precise defence-splitting pass for Tetteh in the early stages of the game, but the striker failed to hit the target after being played through on goal.
The lack of support from his team-mates did not stop Robertson from getting into promising areas inside the final third, as he continued to knock on the doors of the ATK defence to try and find an opening.
And his moment eventually came in the 31st minute when Bazie Armand retrieved the ball in midfield before nudging it forward to Abhas Thapa, who quickly played it on to the path of Robertson.
The Scot was never in doubt when he took the ball into his stride and dispatched an unstoppable low shot into the bottom corner of Debjit Majumder's goal to pull his team back on level terms.
Although Real Kashmir FC ended up as the losing side on the night, they can look back on their domestic campaign with pride as they continue to be revered as one of the greatest sporting stories from the nation this year.
And to some extent, the credit goes to the Robertsons, the father-son duo have combined effectively to find bring new hope to the war-torn valley of Kashmir and will not be forgotten anytime soon.
#3 Raging Lanzarote hunts down the Snow Leopards
For the majority of the game, Manuel Lanzarote was cut a frustrated figure constantly provoked by his counterparts as he vehemently pleaded his case to the referee.
The frustration was evident and the ATK captain did not refrain from expressing it with his tantrums and jibes at the officials and his opponents.
However, at the end, when his team needed him the most, Lanzarote did just what is expected of him in games like these with an other-worldly moment of brilliance.
The Spaniard had helped Balwant Singh open the scoring in the first half and pulled the strings from midfield for ATK as you would expect him to as the game progressed.
But the game changer came in the 79th minute when he produced a spectacular side-footed volley to find the back of the net from outside the penalty area after Edu Garcia pinged the ball to him from a corner kick.
That moment of magic was a testament to Lanzarote's undeniable quality that had come under the scanner after a disappointing season at ATK following his big-money move from FC Goa last summer.
Despite all his fiery antics on the pitch this term, there is a hunger to win and turn games on its head in Lanzarote, and no wonder why Steve Coppell and his team-mates let him get away with it all the time.
#4 Bilal Khan and Danish Farooq fail to build on strong I-League season
Real Kashmir were heavily reliant on Bilal Khan during their rise to a third-place finish in the recently concluded I-League season. The goalkeeper was adjudged as the best shot-stopper in the 2018/19 I-League season for his performances after notching up nine clean sheets.
Another Indian player that carved out a niche for himself at Real Kashmir is Danish Farooq, who is now serving as an inspiration to several up and coming footballers from the region.
The talented winger had netted a brace during his team's dramatic 3-2 win over Neroca FC in their final game of the season in early March to cap off his debut campaign in the division.
Despite their unprecedented success in the I-League, both players failed to carry the same momentum forward into the Super Cup tie against ATK. Farooq was largely a passenger in the game and offered very little to his team in the wide areas.
On the other hand, even though Khan could not do an awful lot about the goals he conceded from Manuel Lanzarote and Everton Santos, he would be disappointed with his decision-making on a few instances including the build-up to Balwant Singh's opening goal on the night.
The Real Kashmir custodian could have communicated better with his defenders and come out of his line to collect Lanzarote's cross, but failed to do so and was punished for his actions.
In addition to that, Khan also looked jittery while handling the ball on a few instances and would have ideally wanted to offer more to the team, much like his team-mate Farooq.
#5 Steve Coppell buys time on ATK job
In many ways, it has been nothing short of a forgetful campaign for Steve Coppell at ATK after his appointment at the helm last summer.
The Englishman was roped in to make the club a force to reckon with again, following their disappointing ninth-placed finish during the 2017/18 ISL season, and was heavily backed in the transfer window to go out and get the players he wanted at the club.
ATK spent heavily on the likes of Manuel Lanzarote, John Johnson, Kalu Uche and Everton Santos last summer and were forced to bring in Edu Garcia and Pritam Kotal in the winter transfer window to try and push for a playoff place in the second half of the season.
However, none of that materialized under Coppell, who could only help the team to a sixth-place finish, five points behind the final playoff spot occupied by North East United, who are working on one of the smallest budgets in the division.
An early exit in the Super Cup to Real Kashmir FC could have been the final nail in the coffin for Coppell, but for now, he has managed to buy some time to try and convince ATK that he deserves another chance next season.
Whether he gets that or no, we are not entirely sure, but the fact that ATK have scored just 18 goals (second lowest in the ISL this term) under him is an alarming concern, especially considering the amount of individual quality they have in attack on their books.
Coppell might well be on borrowed time with ATK at this moment in time and it remains to be seen where the ISL journeyman's future lies in the upcoming season.
