A well deserved victory for ATK as the hero of the night Roy Krishna starred with a second-half hat-trick. Even before Odisha FC could have enough time to regret their two misses in the early minutes of the first half, Roy Krishna opened the scoring off a corner-kick. The Fijian added two more in the space of four minutes to close out the game before Manu Onwu scored a consolation goal in the 67th minute. From there on, ATK closed out the game efficiently to keep Odisha FC at bay and also get back to the top of the table.
90' A teasing cross from Xisco Hernandez but Arindam Bhattacharya gets his jump timed to perfection in order to catch the ball in spite of Manu Onwu's close presence. Bhattacharya, in fact, earns a free-kick for his effort.
87' Odisha FC try to manoeuvre a move through the right wing with Shubham Sarangi hanging his cross at the far post but the angle for too acute for Manu Onwu to get his header on target.
82' Another Yellow card as Jerry Mawihmingthanga becomes the latest Odisha FC player to go into the book. The young winger tried to get hold of the ball but he only managed to elbow Sumit Rathi and the ATK defender went down to no one's surprise.
79' Yellow card for Nandakumar Sekar. A through ball delivered to Prabir Das let him have a lot of space and this meant that Nandakumar Sekar shoulder barged the ATK wing-back to stop a threatening move.
75' Another substituition for ATK. Pronay Halder coming on earlier has allowed Antonio Lopez Habas to give some game-time for David Williams at the expense of Armando Sosa Pena's service.
69' Josep Gombau has literally rung the changes as he makes three substitutions in one go! Fransisco Dorronsoro, Vinit Rai and Narayan Das are off for Martin Perez Guedes, Arshdeep Singh and Daniel Lalhimpuia.
66' GOOOOOAAAAAL! Manu Onwu gets one back for Odisha FC! Shubham Sarangi got himself into space to whip in a cross behind ATK's back-line and Manu Onwu gambled perfectly to poke the ball into the back of the net. Poor defending once again in this match.
63' Haaaaaatttt-Triiiiiiicccckk for Roy Krishna. An amazing phase of the game becomes even better as ATK go three to the good. It all started with Armando Sosa Pena knicking the ball off Marcos Tebar's feet to let Jayesh Rane come up with a cross. Once the cross was hit into the right area, there was no doubt over Roy Krishna finishing off the chance. Fantastic football from the hosts.
59' GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL! Roy Krishna doubles the lead with a stunning finish. It might have been a harmless long ball from Armando Sosa Pena for most players but it turned out to be a chance for the Roy Krishna. With just the last man in Carlos Delgado left to be beaten, Krishna stepped on his pace before going into the box to come up with a sublime lobbed shot over Dorronsoro
54' Superb cross from Nandakumar Sekar into the six yard box but Xisco Hernandez could only strike the ball straight at Arindam Bhattacharya, Two chances in the last few minutes and unbelievably Odisha FC have still not equalised.
52' A chance has gone begging for Odisha FC. Xisco Hernandez's delivery from a free-kick is beyond the hot zone in the box but Nandakumar Sekar was left free at the far post. If Nanda had got some connection, it could have very well been 1-1. However, he only manages an air-shot.
49' GOOOOOALLLLLLL. A much better delivery from Javi Hernandez from the corner-kick this time and Roy Krishna cleverly runs forward after tugging the far post to smash the ball into the back of the net. Poor poor defending as there was no pressure on Krishna.
45' Wasted set-piece to start off the second half. Prabir Das continues his good work by earning corner-kick but Javi Hernandez's following delivery is poor as the ball goes way beyond the men in the box.
This brings an end to a very silent first half at the Salt Lake Stadium with the hosts ATK being the more dominant side without ever creating clear-cut chances. Odisha FC have surprisingly struggled to keep the ball and get both Nandakumar Sekar and Jerry Mawihmingthanga into the game while ATK's half-chances have come through Prabir Das' crosses from the right flank. However, the crosses have either not been met by the ATK forwards or Odisha FC have defended stoutly to keep the scoreline intact. Antonio Lopez Habas will want his men to step up their work-rate in the final third.
44' A tough ball played to Jerry sees the winger being held away efficiently by Sumit Rathi as he plays it for a goal-kick. Superb defending from the youngster.
41' Completely bizarre from Narayan Das as he checks an ATK player near the left wing. It was off the ball but the assistant referee helps Ajit Kumar Meitei to brandish a yellow card for the Odisha left-back.
40' Javi Hernandez threatens to break free through the left flank but Shubham Sarangi stays within reach and gets in a superb tackle to get the ball out of play.
37' A couple of half-chances for ATK as they take their time before building a move. First, Javi Hernandez' cross to the box was met by Roy Krishna but the ball lands to a Odisha FC defender. The hosts come back once again through Michael Soosairaj but his cut-back was poorly aimed for Krishna.
33' Fantastic turn of pace from Prabir Das as he rushes forward before fizzing in a cross. Although the ball wasn't directed at the right area, Dorronsoro spills the ball but luckily it stays within his reach. Danger averted.
29' Yellow card for Xisco Hernandez. The Spaniard brought down Jayesh Rane in a messy way as the ATK mid-fielder showed some superb skills to weave his way past a couple of opposition players.
28' Manu Onwu earns a free-kick by trying to twist and turn while Armando Sosa Pena brings him down. Some relief for Odisha FC as ATK have dominated the possession stats in the last few minutes.
24' It has begun to rain in Kolkata and this has hurt the game's flow in the last few minutes. Some players have slipped while attacking players have also been guilty of poor work in the final-third.
19' Prabir Das' ball down the flank is whipped in by Jayesh Rane but Odisha FC goal-keeper Francisco Dorronsoro flung himself to push the ball out for safety.
15' Roy Krishna tries to break free following an ATK throw-in but Narayan Das wrestled him down in a haphazard manner. The referee has awarded a free-kick but that should have been an yellow card for Narayan.
12' Prabir Das is getting a lot of chances to cross and this time he manages to get the ball past three Odisha FC defenders. Finally, Shubham Sarangi at the far post cleared it with Roy Krishna lurking around the area.
10' Brilliant defense-splitting ball from Xisco Hernandez to Jerry Mawihmingthanga but Arindam Bhattacharya is quick enough to come out of the box and clear it to safety.
9' The tactic from Odisha FC has been pretty evident with them trying to keep the ball wide in order to get in crosses into the middle. However, they have not been able to create any clear-cut chances until now.
5' Brilliant show of strength from Javi Hernandez as he gets through the Odisha FC midfield and passes the ball to Roy Krishna. The Fijian then played the ball out to Prabir Das but the wing-back's cross is just a tad bit too ahead for the onrushing Edu Garcia. The ball has been played out for an ATK corner. Ominous build up play from the hosts.
4' Vinit Rai tried to thread a pass to Manu Onwu but the Spaniard went down pretty easily in a duel with Victor Mongil and the referee allows play to go on.
2' End to end football in the early minutes of the match. After Roy Krishna's cut back doesn't reach Edu Garcia, Odisha FC try to counter-attack but Nandakumar Sekar's attempted cross could early earn a corner for the team.
1' A string of passes from Odisha FC before a long ball is directed at Nandakumar Sekar but the winger couldn't get the ball under control and this allows ATK to gain possession.
ATK wouldn't have to change their game-plan which has ensured that they hold the second-best defensive record in the league until now. Coach Antonio Lopez Habas has found a settled back-five to be compact at the back while Roy Krishna and Edu Garcia have combined for 14 goals until now. Lopez Habas also has the luxury on calling David Williams' service from the bench with the Aussie registering five goals before he got injured.
For Odisha, the goals have come majorly through the ruled-out Aridane Santana and attacking mid-fielder Xisco Hernandez. Manuel Onwu who is on-loan from Bengaluru FC would be pretty confident of filling in Santana's shoes especially after doing well against FC Goa. Just like Santana, Onwu will also be expecting good crosses from the duo of Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Nandakumar Sekar. The young Jerry also leads the assist chart for his team with four of his crosses/through balls resulting in goals.
As expected, Odisha FC have made as many as four changes with Shubham Sarangi, Carlos Delgado, Marcos Tebar and Nandakumar Sekar replacing Mohammad Sajid Dhot, Diawandou Diagne, Martin Perez Guedes and Daniel Lalhimpuia.
Odisha FC (Playing XI): Francisco Dorronsoro (GK), Gaurav Bora, Shubham Sarangi, Narayan Das, Carlos Delgado, Marcos Tebar (C), Xisco Hernandez, Vinit Rai, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Nandhakumar Sekar, Manuel Onwu.
The hosts have made two changes to the team that took on Jamshedpur FC with Michael Soosairaj and Victor Mongil replacing Anas Edathodika and Roy Krishna.
ATK FC (Playing XI): Arindam Bhattacharja (GK), Sumit Rathi, Pritam Kotal, Prabir Das, Victor Mongil, Armando Sosa Pena, Edu Garcia, Javier Hernandez, Jayesh Rane, Roy Krishna, Michael Soosairaj.
Odisha FC manager Josep Gombau said that he was aware of the challenge in front of his team. “Knowing that ATK is a very good team and that we are going to play away, We are training with aim and concentration and we will try to win.” Gombau said.
Like his opposite number Antonio Lopez Habas, Gombau also wanted to take the rest of the season game by game. “We want to win every game. We are now concentrating on the game against ATK. After that, we will see who else we face this round. We are confident that we can get the wins. Game by game we will see where we are. The boys are working very hard. We are positive,” he said.
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