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ISL: Lanzarote strikes help ATK notch up first win against Jamshedpur FC
After 14 rounds and their first win in four games, ATK moved to 20 points, the same as Jamshedpur FC and three shy of NorthEast FC who are currently fourth.
Wrapping his left foot around the ball, Manuel Lanzarote produced two delectable free-kicks that kept ATK in the hunt for a play-off berth with a 2-1 win against Jamshedpur FC, their first in four games the Indian Super League (ISL) in Kolkata on Sunday.
Barring a first half header from Pratik Choudhary, ATK kept Jamshedpur FC quiet till the final quarter.
The visitors then threw everything and pulled one back in the 82nd minute when Spanish defensive midfielder Mario Blasco, in the defensive sandwich of left-back Ricky Lallawmawma and midfielder Hitesh Sharma, leapt highest and nodded home Bikash Jairu’s floater. Sumeet Passi had struck the horizontal minutes earlier and in the 85th minute, ATK goalie Arindam Bhattacharja made a timely intervention.
Both of Lanzarote’s goals came after fouls on Eduardo Garcia whose speed, touch and guile reminded of Luis Garcia, ATK’s marquee in the first season, and gave Jamshedpur FC in general and Dhanachandra Singh the blues leading to the left-back being substituted at the start of the second half. To accommodate wide midfielder Pablo Morgado, Jamshedpur FC had to switch Jairu from central midfield to left back.
Lanzarote’s first goal came in the third minute when Singh scythed Garcia, who was signed in the winter transfer window from China’s Zhejiang Greentown FC, from behind. From near the top of the penalty area, Lanzarote scored his fourth goal of the season with a curler.
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It was the second time in ISL4 that ATK had scored in the third minute, the first coming from Kalu Uche.
The second goal came in the 33rd minute and again it was Singh who barreled into Garcia to concede a free-kick on the left of his penalty area. This time, Lanzarote, back after being suspended for the 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters, aimed higher and all Paul could do flying to his left was get a hand that grazed the ball on its way in.
Needing full points against a team difficult to break down --- this was Jamshedpur FC’s second loss of the season ---- ATK coach Steve Coppell gambled with an all-imported front three in Lanzarote, Everton Santos and Garcia.
That meant utility player Gerson Vieira had to move into a three-man midfield and central defender Arnab Mondal got his first game in ISL4. It also meant the John Johnson-Andrey Bikey central defensive partnership that had the second-best record in the league was broken and striker Uche sacrificed.
Garcia wears No. 22 but played like a No. 10. He was impressive against Kerala Blasters and had scored with a cheeky free-kick. It couldn’t fetch them a win in Kochi but he could be crucial in ATK’s push to survive the league phase.
After 14 rounds and their first win in four games, ATK moved to 20 points, the same as Jamshedpur FC and three shy of NorthEast FC who are currently fourth.
