ISL 2018-19: ATK 0-0 FC Goa – 5 talking points

#2 Resolute defending by ATK

No teams this season have stopped Goa from scoring. On Wednesday night, ATK did just that. In fact, they have kept a clean sheet for the last three games. It takes time to build up to that. They have also got themselves unlucky when Kalu Uche got injured. It meant that they couldn’t bring an extra player as a defender.

But they have Andre Bikey and John Johnson who are solid at the defence. On the defensive midfield, they’ve got Pranoy Halder and Gerson Viera, who could block any kind of attacks on their day. They work as a force and as a unit.

Overall, ATK have produced a disciplined performance on the backline. There’s only two-time that ATK defenders looked shaky. Mourtada Fall got his header side-netted. It was an odd mistake from Pranoy who failed to see an onrushing Fall from behind. Another was the side-netting shot from Seriton, when ATK central defenders left a huge gap between them.

Ankit should be given the credit for his performance. Apart from his dominance in the right back position, he’s couple up as a winger too, which is helping his team immensely.