ISL 2018-19: 3 reasons why ATK lost to NorthEast United FC

ATK failed to resuscitate their campaign as they tasted second successive defeat in Indian Super League season 5 here at Salt Lake stadium on Thursday. NorthEast United FC, after their spirited fight against FC Goa, finally got their due this time. Rowllin Borges’s header in 89th minute separated the two teams, which was an exciting affair.

ATK though suffered an early setback. They played more than an hour with ten men as left-back Sena Ralte was shown a red card (second yellow) for his challenge against Nikhil Kadam. But their defence was resolute to keep NorthEast at bay for the most part of the match. But lack of concentration towards the end cost them all the three points.

Federico Gallego’s corner was met by Borges, who was completely unmarked. That was the only shot on target by the Highlanders in the whole match. Bartholomew Ogbeche could have scored another, had he not been denied by John Johnson.

The NorthEast goalkeeper TP Rehenesh should have been sent off as early as in the 6th minute too. During an ATK corner, he punched Gerson Vieira’s face but the referee somehow overlooked the affair, despite Vieira’s vehement protest.

Let us look at the three reasons why ATK lost:

---

#1 Opportunities created and missed

Sena Ralte fouls Nikhil Kadam which led to his sending off [Credits: ISL]

Despite an inferior ball possession, ATK created more chances in front of the goal. They controlled the proceedings in the midfield for the first 15 minutes. NEUFC at that time were relying more on counter attacks.

The situation changed after Ralte’s red card. Balwant came down to take the left-back position, where he often played during his time with Chennaiyin FC. When Ricky Lallawmawma was introduced, Balwant moved upfront and paired with Manuel Lanzarote.

Lanzarote was at the centre of ATK’s attack for most of the evening. He created chances, took the ball from the opponent but failed to finish it off. He was in fine form previous season for FC Goa. But after having a bad day in office against Kerala, he came back to his old self. But that was not enough to secure all three points. Even defender John Johnson had two glorious chances but both of them went wide.

They had four shots on target including a superb free-kick from their captain Lanzarote. But the day was not for them.

#2 Patience paid off for NEUFC

Rowllin Borges (right) celebrates his goal with other NEUFC players [Credits: ISL]

Eelco Schattorie is a man of steel. He knew that a single chance will be enough for ATK to kill the contest at any point of time. So he formed a four-man backline putting Rowllin and Jose Leudo as the defensive midfielders.

That made it easier for NEUFC as they were able to hold the ball for most of the time. Rowllin and Gallego were excellent throughout the match. They created most of the opportunities with Redeem Tlang played the role of sheet anchor.

Another notable mention is Nikhil. His raw pace and passing abilities created pressure among ATK defenders. Schattorie changed his formation from 4-2-3-1 to 3-5-2, pushing Leudo as a centre-back. That consolidated NEUFC’s midfield and if chances were converted, they could’ve won by a bigger margin.

#3 Coppell’s questionable strategy

Despite defeat, Lanzarote played an influential role [Credits: ISL]

ATK coach Steve Coppell decided to field the same line-up, which lost to Kerala Blasters in the previous match. As a result, Kalu Uche was again put on the bench and Everton Santos got the start. Everyone was left surprised by the decision as Uche was in superb form for Delhi Dynamos last season. It’s true that jetlag was a concern behind benching him against Kerala. But Uche got four days of practice and it takes enough courage to put him on the reserve bench.

In the pre-match press conference, Coppell said he told the boys to focus more on controlling the ball. But it was exactly opposite in the match as ATK players lost the ball too often and sometimes it created an opportunity for the opponent.

Also, Ralte’s challenge against Nikhil near the centreline was completely unnecessary. ATK were looking strong at that moment and one single red card catapulted the situation in NEUFC’s favour.

But, this is just the second match, with still 16 remaining. For Coppell, ATK players and their fans, all is not lost. ATK defence will look stronger once Andre Bikey comes back. They could well hope for a turnaround as soon as possible.