While Saturday (or the wee hours of Sunday, depending on which part of the world you’re in) brought us the demolition of the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City, the Indian Super League (ISL) also had a similar result in store, as Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) thrashed FC Goal 4-0.
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South African wingman Sameehg Doutie ran riot down the left wing on Sunday night, as the FC Goa defence completely capitulated with two goals on either side of half time. It was Doutie himself, who scored the opening goal of the match on the 20th minute, after ATK endured a few good chances created by FC Goa, in which Amrinder Singh made a brilliant save from a menacing shot by Dudu, to turn the ball onto the other side of the post.
The ATK attackers might have performed brilliantly, but the defence also put in a convincing performance, with the combination of Tiri and Arnab Mondal working very well to keep out the FC Goa attackers. In the midfeild, Nato also put in a stellar performance, keeping Leonardo Moura quite the entire match. Former ATK midfielder Jofre had a nightmare in the midfield, trying to control the menace created by the combination of Borja and Gavilan.
However, it was Doutie who was the star of the match, as he scored two and created two more, to rip the former league leaders FC Goa apart. Although Borja will take away most of the accolades for ATK’s second goal, but Doutie also played a big part in holding up the ball on the left flank, before laying it off for the Spaniard, who thundered it into the top corner from outside the box.
FC Goa coach Zico brought on midfielder Denson Devdas for defender Gregory at the start of the second half, changing the formation from 5-3-2 to 4-4-2, trying to give his team some width. That did not quite work however, as Doutie kept on terrorising Lucio and co.
A third opportunity was presented ATK, when the South African was brought down inside the Goa box, and the referee instantly pointed to the spot. Iain Hume sent goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani the wring way to put ATK 3-0 in front. Finally, ATK holding midfielder Nato found Doutie with a perfect aerial through ball, as the South African calmly dribbled past a defender and the goalkeeper to complete a miserable night for FC Goa.
Speaking in the post match presentation, Doutie said, “It was a good team effort [as] everyone fought hard. The whole team is coming together now.”
It was obviously not such a great night for FC Goa though, as they slumped from a 7-0 win to a 4-0 defeat in the match.
“We started well. We had a couple of chances that maybe [could have] change[d] the match, but after the first goal…[it all went wrong],” said FC Goa midfielder Jofre, who played for ATK last season. “We know its [was] going be tough. We won we won [7-0 against Mumbai], but today is opposite. We have got to learn from this and be positive.”
With this win, ATK go top of the ISL table, and now need a maximum of four points from their last two matches to cement a semi finals spot for themselves.
“Goa is a good side, and to play like this tonight is great,” said ATK co-owner and India cricket legend Sourav Ganguly. “We got 2 more games to go, but hopefully the way we’ve played, I don’t think we’ll drop [below fourth] from here.”
Image Courtesy: ISL Media Team