Quality stood out in the rain. That's what happened at Kolkata on Saturday. Two unbeaten sides, ATK and Jamshedpur FC, met for the first time this season in the Eastern Derby at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium and enthralled fans and pundits. Three penalties, all valid ones, gave Roy Krishna a brace before Sergio Castel pulled one back with five minutes into the regulation time whistle. Then, Indian Super League's undisputed super-sub, Edu Garcia arrived to make it 3-1 for the hosts. The result means that ATK, the two-time champions, will go into the international break leading the table with nine points from four matches, just ahead of FC Goa and NorthEast - eight points each from as many matches. For Jamshedpur, it's their first defeat after two wins and a draw at home. Yea, first away game and first defeat, to a classy side. Tomorrow, we have another goal-fest between defending champions Bengaluru and another two-time champion Chennaiyin.
Catch highlights of the ATK vs Jamshedpur match here:
Second-Half: ATK 3-1 Jamshedpur FC
90+5' - A corner for Jamshedpur and that's all. ATK win 3-1 with Roy Krishna scoring a brace.
90+4' - GOAL! Super-sub is on. Edu Garcia does it again. The habitual late scorer. Great first touch by Roy Krishna to lay it on the path of Garcia. And a sublime dink to beat Subrata Paul.
90+2' - Jamshedpur win a throw-in inside the ATK half. But the visitors fail to create a sensible move from it. Meanwhile, Roy Krishna is the hero of the match tonight.
90' - Farukh Choudhary again. The youngster, who just got a national call up, tests Arindam Bhattacharya from a close range. Five minutes added on.
89' - Farukh Choudhary goes past Pritam Kotal and sends a goal-bound drive. On the counter, Edu Garcia gets himself on a good spot to try a long ranger.
86' - Roy Krishna on the ground after a clash with Sergio Castel. From the restart, Edu Garcia goes for the goal. But gets it blocked.
85' - GOAL! Sergio Castel scores and Hyderabad pull one back.
83' - A free-kick for Hyderabad, then a corner. Then the fight. Anas Edathodika elbows Sergio Castel going for the header. PENALTY.
81' - Noe Acosta sends in a curler, and Anas Edathodika heads away for a corner. Nothing comes off it. And a sub for ATK. Jobby Justin on for Michael Soosairaj. Jamshedpur bring in Bikash Jairu, for Keegan Pereira.
78' - Sergio Castel showing his physical presence. He lets Robin Gurung take over and Jamshedpur win a throw-in. Then, a free-kick as David Williams brings down Castel.
76' - Carl McHugh gets a booking for a sliding tackle on Robin Gurung. Nasty. A free-kick to ATK, and Aniket Jadhav wins a throw-in, from a deflection.
75' - Jamshedpur continue to look for a way to get into the match. But nothing is happening for them so far. Sub for ATK. Edu Garcia on for Javi Hernandez.
71' - GOAL! Scored, but the referee asked for a retake for player infringement. Then, this time, Roy Krishna opted for right and beat Subrata Paul by the pace of it. Paul congratulated Krishna. That's three in three, but counted only a couple.
69' - Another penalty for ATK. A simple long ball, allowed to bounce and Roy Krishna won a penalty. First Tiri missed his trick, then Memo Moura went with the tackle. Yellow for Tiri for prostration.
67' - Sub for Jamshedpur. Mobashir Rahman made way for Aniket Jhadav.
64' - First change for ATK. Pronay Halder on for Jayesh Rana. Moments ago, Sergio Castel went down rather softly and the referee was not impressed. No penalty for Jamshedpur.
63' - David Williams controls a pass from Roy Krishna with his chest but that brilliant first-touch was let down by his final execution. Failed to make a connection with his volley and was on his hunches from the wild swing. Painful.
62' - A left-footed drive from Javier Hernandez and it clips the side netting. Good attempt.
60' - A free-kick just outside the Jamshedpur box after Robin Gurung brought down Roy Krishna.
57' - GOAL! And Roy Krishna sends Subrata Paul the wrong way and buries the ball.
55' - Penalty! Tiri brings down Roy Krishna inside the box.
53' - Jayesh Rane's pass falls short after a brilliant move from ATK, just outside the Jamshedpur box.
51' - Isaac Vanmalsawma coming to the party rather late. Gets involved in a couple of moves for Jamshedpur.
50' - It's becoming a stop-start match with so many tackles. Another one in the 50th minute. Blame it on the rain and some deliberate tactical tackles.
48' - Another clumsy tackle from Mobashir Rahman. Then, two players involved in a clash, both going for the ball and misses it.
47' - Michael Soosairaj and Javier Hernandez in a brilliant link-up play. Soosairaj then misses the target by inches.
46' - Second half underway in Kolkata.
8:25 PM IST: Enthralling encounter at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. Brilliant starts from both the sides but the clash petered out with rain coming down heavily. Visitors saw their playmaker hobbling away but they continued to match ATK in every aspect of the game. The best chance of the match came from Farukh Choudhary, whose header hit the bar. Towards the end, ATK, with Michael Soosairaj on the left, got a couple of chances.
First-Half: ATK 0-0 Jamshedpur FC
45-3' - Huge argument between Carl McHugh and Sergio Castel. Jamshedpur player pulls his shock down to show the bruises from a tackle from McHugh. And that's all from the first half.
45' - Free kick to ATK, and a curling effort from Noe Acosta. But nothing comes off it. Three minutes added on.
43' - Jayesh Rane lets fly his long ranger. Just misses the target. Then, a yellow card for Farukh Choudhary for a bad tackle.
40' - Mobashir Rahman, lucky to get away without a booking, after blocking David Williams. A free-kick for ATK, and then a brilliant chance to score the opener. Subrata Paul once again finds himself in a spot of bother. Paul relays it to Robin Gurung and David Williams wins the ball, then Roy Krishna backheels to onrushing Javier Hernandez. Then a foul. Calls for a penalty, but not one coming.
37' - Piti returns to action and soon leaves the field. Big blow for Jamshedpur. Noe Acosta replaces him. Meanwhile, Subrata Paul while going for a return pass, gives away a throw-in to ATK.
35' - Aitor Monroy's delivery and Keegan Pereira fails to make the most out it. Then, Piti walks off the pitch, clutching his calf. Then, Roy Krishna gets a kick from Monroy.
33' - Clash of heads. No, Carl McHugh rubs the back of Sergio Castel with his elbow. And Jamshedpur player is on ethe ground. Free-kick for the visitors.
32' - Jamshedpur are doing well so far. In fact, they have started dictating terms in the last few minutes, changing flanks and using the width of the pitch.
30' - Pritam Kotal gets himself booked for short pulling, Sergio Castel is the victim.
29' - Farukh Choudhary win the ball back and starts a move involving Keegan Pereira and Sergio Castel. Agustin Iniguez does well to cut short the move.
28' - Against the run of the play, Jamshedpur win a throw-in inside the ATK half. But, it's ATK are having the better of exchanges.
25' - Free kick for ATK. A contentious call from the officials. Javier Hernandez sends in a good looking delivery but Tiri's there.
23' - Another brilliant run from Michael Soosairaj, this time, after a one-two with Javier Hernandez. Jamshedpur captain Tiri intercepts.
22' - Subrata Paul cuts out a dangerous cross from Michael Soosairaj. Roy Krishna, unmarked, just needs the ball at his foot. Good work from Paul.
21' - Carl McHugh and Michael Soosairaj operating on the left flank with some conviction. McHugh sets up Soosairaj and the latter goes for a long ranger with his right foot, but gets blocked.
19' - Prabir Das gets on with the advantage on the right flank, and he sends in a fantastic cross for David Williams. A header from Williams, and misses the target. Very good play from ATK.
18' - Resolute defending form ATK. Meanwhile, Memo Moura brings down David Williams near the centre line. Free-kick for ATK.
16' - Javier Hernandez up against Jamshedpur defence. Visitors win with Robin Gurung making the final clearance.
14' - A long ball from Carl McHugh for Roy Krishna. But Tiri blocks the run with a timely interception.
12' - Agustin Iniguez plays safe. A good run from Farukh Choudhary from a Sergio Castel, and ATK defender clears the danger away. Corner. Poor execution from Jamshedpur, though.
10' - Prabir Das fails to control a cross-field pass, thus wasting a good move. Moments ago, ATK made a brilliant move with Michael Soosairaj and Roy Krishna testing Jamshedpur defenders.
8' - What a move from Jamshedpur with Piti in the centre. Piti sets up Farukh Choudhary, and the youngster hits the bar. And some desperate clearance from ATK defenders.
7' - ATK continue to enjoy possession and David Williams almost scores the first goal after forcing Subrata Paul to commit a mistake. Paul, all of his experience, tries to nutmeg Williams after Memo Moura plays a back pass. Rebound from Williams shin misses the far post, by a whisker.
4' - Turning defence into attack. Roy Krishna links up with David Williams from a defensive work. But the move ends up with a throw-in for Jamshedpur.
3' - Keegan Perreira, what have you done? A very late tackle, kicking Prabir Das. Yellow card for Jamshedpur player.
2' - Jamshedpur FC start the proceedings. And Sergio Castel indulges himself with some tackling while going for the ball.
1' - Rahul Kumar Gupta blows the whistle. And it's raining.
7:25 PM IST: Players and match officials are out in the centre. National Anthem next.
7:19 PM IST: Changes from the last matches
One change for ATK. Jayesh Rane in for Pronay Halder. And a couple of changes for Jamshedpur. Keegan Perreira and Isaac Vanmalsawma in for Bikash Jairu and Aniket Jadhav respectively.
7:09 PM IST: Meanwhile, India's U-17 Women's World Cup team get a new head coach in Thomas Dennerby. Read details HERE.
6:54 PM IST: Subs
ATK: Dheeraj Moirangthem (1), Ankit Mukherjee (28), Pronay Halder (17), Sehnaj Singh (26), Balwant Singh (15), Edu Garcia (10), Jobby Justin (22).
Jamshedpur: Rafique Ali (13), Joyner Lourenco (14), Karan Amin (27), Bikash Jairu (21), Noe Acosta (11), Aniket Jadhav (10), Sumeet Passi (12).
6:42 PM IST: What happened so far?
Jamshedpur FC are yet to face defeat. They have two (2-1 vs Odisha, 3-1 vs Jamshedpur) and drawn one (0-0 vs Bengaluru) so far -- all at home. Tonight, they play their first away game of the season, and it will be a tough task for them to maintain that run.
ATK started with a defeat (1-2 vs Kerala Blasters), then registered back-to-back wins (vs Hyderabad 5-0 at home and 1-0 vs Chennaiyin away).
6:35 PM IST: Starting XIs are here
ATK (3-4-1-2): Arindam Bhattacharja (29); Pritam Kotal (C-20), Agustin Iniguez (14), Anas Edathodika (30); Prabir Das (33), Jayesh Rane (16), Carl McHugh (8), Michael Soosairaj (23); Javier Hernandez (19); David Williams (9), Roy Krishna (21).
Jamshedpur (4-2-3-1): Subrata Paul (1), Robin Gurung (16), Tiri (C-4), Memo Moura (22), Keegan Pereira (20); Aitor Monroy (6), Mobashir Rahman (15); Farukh Choudhary (17), Piti (7), Isaac Vanmalsawma (24); Sergio Castel (9).
6:16 PM IST: Head-to-head
Nothing to separate between these two sides. They have met four times with one win each and two draws, and scored three goals apiece.
A goalless draw in the first meeting, at Jamshedpur in 2017. Then, Jamshedpur shocked ATK at Kolkata in the return leg in 2018. Last season, they played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Jamshedpur, then ATK got their revenge in the return leg with a 2-1 win.
6:08 PM IST: Jamshedpur FC Squad
GK - Amrit Gope (25), Rafique Ali (13), Niraj Kumar (23), Subrata Paul (1); DF - Augustin Fernandes (3), Jitendra Singh (33), Tiri (4), Joyner Lourenco (14), Karan Amin (27), Keegan Pereira (20), Narender Gahlot (5), Robin Gurung (16); MF - Aitor Monroy (6), Amarjit Kiyam (8), Bikash Jairu (21), Memo Moura (22), Piti (7), Isaac Vanmalsawma (24), Mobashir Rahman (15), Noe Acosta (11); FW - Aniket Jadhav (10), CK Vineeth (31), Farukh Choudhary (17), Sergio Castel (9), Sumeet Passi (12)
Head Coach: Antonio Iriondo (Spain)
6:02 PM IST: What they said?
During the pre-match press conference, Habas stated that only winning matters for his side. "Football is about attacking and defending. Maybe it (Chennaiyin match) wasn't the best match for ATK, but we won the match. Sometimes it's less important to play well and win the match," he said.
Meanwhile, Iriondo praised ATK's quality. "We know we're playing against a great team. It's a very serious team and when I say serious, it's like they know the way they want to win. They have a lot of quality in their team. I know their coach and it's a team that gets into crazy matches who love to attack through," he said.
5:57 PM IST: ATK Squad
GK - Arindam Bhattacharya (29), Dheeraj Moirangthem (1), Lara (31); DF - Agustin Iniguez (14), Anas Edathodika (30), Anil Chawan (5), Ankit Mukherjee (28), John Johnson (4), Prabir Das (33), Pritam Kotal (20), Sumit Rathi (2); MF - Carl McHugh (8), Javier Hernandez (19), Pronay Halder (17), Sehnaj Singh (26); Balwant Singh (15), David Williams (9), Edu Garcia (10), Jayesh Rana (16), Jobby Justin (22), Komal Thatal (7), Michael Soosairaj (23), Roy Krishna (21)
Head Coach: Antonio Lopez Habas (Spain)
5:45 PM IST: Team News
ATK boss, Antonio Habas will finally have Jobby Justin for selection. The former East Bengal striker was serving a ban. Otherwise, he has a fully-fit squad. Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC head coach Antonio Iriondo will be without Amarjit Kiyam and CK Vineeth, due to injuries.
Premise
This is the derby that matters. ATK, arguably the most successful team in the Indian Super League, face a strong Jamshedpur FC side in the Eastern Derby. And both the sides will be looking to build on their strong starts. Jamshedpur are third in the league table with seven points from three games while ATK are a spot below with six points from as many games. Two-time winners, ATK, bounced back from their loss against Kerala Blasters FC in the opener and are enjoying their second-best start to an ISL season. Jamshedpur FC, unbeaten in the league so far, have also made their best-ever start in what is their third ISL season.
While ATK have conceded only two goals so far, their attack has been on fire. Led by David Williams, who has grabbed the limelight with three goals so far and supported by Roy Krishna, ATK's attack has accounted for seven goals so far, a club record at this stage.
The striking feature for ATK has been their tactical flexibility under Antonio Habas' guidance. After an attacking display against Hyderabad FC at home which they won 5-0, ATK showed defensive discipline in their 1-0 win over Chennaiyin, away from home. The pace and clinical nature of their attack, which is supported by the likes of Javier Hernandez and Michael Soosairaj, has the ability to hurt any team. Jamshedpur FC will be aware of that particular danger and will count on their defence to deal with the threat.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur love to get on the ball, with the likes of Piti and Aitor Monroy controlling the game from midfield. Antonio Iriondo's side has an in-form striker in Sergio Castel. The 24-year-old has impressed already and will look to continue his good start to life in the ISL. While foreign players have impressed, Indian players have not been far behind. The likes of Farukh Choudhary and Aniket Jadhav carry a goal threat too for Jamshedpur.
