Kerala hold ATK in ISL opener
THE MATCH WAS A BOXTOBOX AFFAIR WITH VERY FEW CHANCES COMING THE WAY OF BOTH SIDES. ATK HAD FOUR SHOTS ON TARGET WHILE KERALA HAD TWO IN THE ENTIRE MATCH.
KOCHI: Defending champions ATK and last edition’s losing finalists Kerala Blasters played out a 0-0 draw in the opening match of the fourth edition of the Indian Super League on Friday.
The match between two sides, who have featured in the two summit clashes of the three editions, did not rise to any great heights with very few goal-scoring opportunities.
This was the first time that ATK drew their first away match in an ISL edition, having won on the earlier three occasions.
Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov made his ISL debut but the Bulgarian could not do much.
The match was a box-to-box affair with very few chances coming the way of both the sides.
ATK had four shots on target while Kerala had two in the entire match. ATK, dominated the match with more than 60 per cent possession, controlling the match for spells but failed to find the goal and create chances.
The Yellow Army turned up full strength at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium but they must be disappointed.
The Kolkata-based side had one real chance in the match but Jose Branco’s effort hit the post in the 71st minute. That was the closest anyone came to scoring in the match. Branco cut in from the left and curled it only to see the ball hit the post.
Four minutes later, Robin Singh who had just came on, made an immediate impact from the left. Collecting a pass and making his way towards the byline before drilling a low cross towards the near post but his ATK team- mate Hitesh Sharma failed to connect.
In the final minute, Berbatov had a header off a corner. It deflected off his team-mate but ATK goalkeeper Debjit Majumder dived for the save.