Bhubaneswar, April 2
Late goals helped ATK get past Real Kashmir FC 3-1 and enter the quarterfinals of the Super Cup here on Monday. Former ISL champions ATK will face another ISL team, Delhi Dynamos FC, in the quarterfinals.
While many of the I-League teams decided to boycott the Super Cup, Real Kashmir decided to go on with their Round of 16 match. Real Kashmir have been one of the surprise packages of the season, finishing third in their debut I-League year.
ATK, on the other hand, had an ordinary ISL season, missing the playoffs after finishing sixth.
Real Kashmir came into the match high on confidence. But two-time ISL winners ATK started the match with a lot of purpose and almost unlocked the Real defence within two minutes. Manuel Lanzarote played through Edu Garcia with a lovely ball, but the Spaniard’s final effort sailed over the bar.
The ATK midfield dominated the proceedings early on, but Real Kashmir gave the Kolkata-based side a reminder of the danger they pose. In the eighth minute, completely against the flow, Mason Robertson showed his own passing prowess, setting up Koffi Tetteh. With just Debjit Majumdar in the ATK goal to beat, the striker scuffed his shot wide.
ATK broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Garcia found Lanzarote down the right wing and the ATK captain played a hopeful ball into the Real Kashmir box. Real defender Aaron Katebe was caught ball-watching and Balwant Singh out-jumped him to bury his header into the goal past a helpless Bilal Husain Khan.
Real Kashmir, however, hit back five minutes later. Abhash Thapa fed Robertson at the edge of the ATK box. The Scotsman took a touch to set himself up and fired in a precise low shot.
The second half was a cagey affair with both teams unable to create any big chances. Until, Lanzarote, who has repeatedly delivered for his team, smashed in a volley from the edge of the box off Garcia’s corner in the 79th minute.
Substitute Everton Santos took just seconds to register his name on the scoresheet after coming on. Taking advantage of a mistimed header, Santos controlled the ball just outside the 16-yard box and beat Bilal with a low shot in the 83rd minute.
“We were trying to retain possession as much as possible, and then get into positions from where we could hurt them,” ATK coach Steve Coppell said.
Real Kashmir head coach David Robertson said he was proud of his team’s performance. “I think we competed well. I think in the first half we did well against them. We play a certain style of football based on the players we have. We haven’t played for a number of weeks. It’s been very difficult for the players,” the coach said. — Agencies
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