Twelve minutes from full time, Sameehg Doutie received a long ball from Ofentse Nato, controlled it with his first touch to get past Lucio, using his second touch to take the ball away from FC Goa goalkeeper Laximant Kattimani and finished calmly in an open net. As Doutie proceeded to his trademark acrobatic celebrations, Kattimani looked in exasperation to Raju Gaikwad who held his head in his hands. It perfectly summed up Goa’s night.
Atletico de Kolkata captain Borja Fernandez (C) celebrates his goal against FC Goa. ISL
“We didn’t play good football. In ninety minutes we just played fifteen minutes. So it’s not enough. And in football, nothing is a surprise,” Zico admitted after the match.The Gaurs started brightly, registering three shots within the first ten minutes. When Dudu Omagbemi latched on to a loose back pass at the ninth minute, it took a brilliant save from Amrinder Singh to keep the Nigerian out.
With Leo Moura and Jonathan Lucca picking out precision passes for Goa early on, it looked like it would be a long night for the defending champions, who had not managed to keep a clean sheet in the prior eleven matches of the Indian Super League. “Maybe the first 5 or 15 minutes, it was tough. After that we played a completely fantastic game,” declared Habas and rightly so.
Atletico de Kolkata played with a sharpness which had only appeared in spurts so far in the competition. The spectators witnessed a dazzling brand of football from the home side in the final thirty minutes of the first half – crisp passing, swift movement, decisive wing-play turning the heat on a Goan defense which had conceded only seven goals in their previous seven matches.
FC Goa’s wing-play is undoubtedly the strongest asset in Zico’s arsenal. Antonio Habas and Atletico de Kolkata countered it with excellent wing-play of their own, with the South African Doutie and Mohammad Rafique pegging back Nicolau Colaco and Narayan Das in their own half of play.
The absence of Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Desai was equally crucial as neither Moura nor Lucca, who started as wide midfielders, had a similar influence on the game. Consequentially, the Gaurs were pretty narrow while on the offensive.
A pedestrian showing from midfield man Joffre resulted in a completely static midfield for Zico’s side, while the Atletico players pressed in tandem. Not only did the Red and Whites win the second balls in midfield, they also forced the Gaurs to frequently lose possession.
A pedestrian showing from midfield man Joffre resulted in a completely static midfield for Zico’s side, while the Atletico players pressed in tandem. Not only did the Red and Whites win the second balls in midfield, they also forced the Gaurs to frequently lose possession.
Doutie has grown as a footballer as the Indian Super League has progressed. His individual brilliance lay at the heart of every goal Atletico scored against FC Goa. It was a composed finish from the South African midfielder to put Atletico in the lead after a clever throw-in from Borja had helped Gavilan set him up with a through-pass.
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While Doutie registered an assist for Borja’s stunning strike, the 26-year-old also won the penalty which Hume converted to put the game past Goa’s reach. It isn’t just his technical ability on the ball, but his off-the-ball industriousness as well has helped Doutie become an indispensable part of Habas’ squad.
On a night when Habas masterminded one of the most astute game-plans of the season, Zico congratulated his adversary, “Kolkata played better than us. They scored two goals in a span of less than five minutes. Our team didn’t react well after those goals. I cannot take away the merit of the other team and find any excuse.”
Referring to his side’s finest performance of the season, Antonio Habas told FirstPost,“I’m very happy about my team. I’m very happy about the performance; maybe more because it was against the best team until now. We are in the first spot and I’m happy.”
While Antonio Habas wants to ‘keep calm’ and prepare for FC Pune City, it’s back to the drawing board for Zico. “We have three more game. We just have to see what our mistakes were this time and try to correct them in the next game,” signed off the Brazilian.
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