ISL: Dynamos and ATK hope to finish with a flourish
NEW DELHI : Delhi Dynamos and ATK have both followed a similar script in this year’s Indian Super League (ISL) season. Both the teams have had disastrous runs in home matches and although their styles of play have earned them praise from opponent coaches, both the teams were out of the running for play-off spots pretty early in the season.
Although their match on Saturday will hardly impact the league standings in any way, both ATK and Delhi Dynamos will be aiming to finish their disappointing seasons on a high when they face each other at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
A lot was expected from defending champions ATK at the start of the season but it has been a car-crash of a season for the two-time winners. The appoint- ment of Teddy Sheringham as coach and Robbie Keane as their star striker also felt like the right choices and a lot of experts even called them ‘favourites’ for the title. However, the season till now has been a different story.
ATK were off to a terrible start in the competition and a winless run of four matches at the beginning was a huge blow to their confidence. The biggest problem for them was the inability to score goals and with Robbie Keane missing a number of matches due to injury concerns, the ATK frontline managed to score just 11 times in 15 matches – the lowest by any team in the league.
The slew of bad performances ended up in the club parting ways with Sheringham and although interim coach Ashley Westwood tried to play different tactics, the results were more or less the same.
“We have nothing to lose and we try and win games. We are good attack-wise, but the finishing has let us down. The other issue is that we tend to open ourselves a little bit while attacking and that is why we become vulnerable on counter-attacks. We need to sort that out,” Westwood said. While ATK’S problem has been the goalscoring part, Delhi Dynamos have struggled to keep the ball out of their net. From the beginning, Dynamos were forced to change the backline frequently due to injuries and as a result, they have conceded the maximum number of goals (31).
However, the hosts have found a bit of form in the last few matches (5 points from 3 matches) and coach Miguel Angel Portugal will be looking for a win once again on Saturday.
GOALLESS DRAW
KOCHI: Chennaiyin FC eked out a goalless draw against Kerala Blasters on Friday to inch closer to a play-off spot. It was the first 0-0 draw in the league since Dec 1, and while it doesn’t end the Blasters’ season, they need to hope for other results to go their way to stay in contention.
They’re in fifth place, one point behind Jamshedpur FC, who have a game in hand. Chennaiyin are placed third after accumulating 29 points from 17 matches, the same as second-placed FC Pune City, who have a better goal difference.