Kochi, Dec 18 (IANS) Atletico de Kolkata claimed their second Indian Super League (ISL) football title in three years bettering Kerala Blasters 4-3 (1-1) on penalty shootout in an excruciating final here on Sunday.
The match was tied in 1-1 at the break and after 90 minutes of regulation time. Mohammed Rafi put the hosts ahead in the 37th minute and Henrique Sereno Fonseca equalised seven minutes later at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium here.
Jewel Raja turned out to be the jewel in ATK's crown after calmly dispatching the last penalty after Sameehg Doutie, Borja Fernandez and Javi Lara all converted their spot kicks. Only Iain Hume's shot was blocked by Kerala custodian Graham Stack.
The home team took first strike in the shootout. Antonio German, Kervens Belfort and Mohammed Rafique score while Elhadji Ndoye blasted over from 18 yards and Cedric Hengbart's shot was acrobatically saved by ATK goalkeeper Debjit Majumder.
--IANS
sam/dg