ISL 2015: 10-man Delhi Dynamos edge past Atletico de Kolkata 1-0

Dos Santos scored in stoppage time to grant Delhi Dynamos all three points

Delhi Dynamos moved to second place in the league as they scraped through against Atletico de Kolkata 1-0. The away side who were reduced to 10 men in the second half pulled off an amazing win with a last-gasp goal deep into stoppage time. The Delhi side are now level on points as leaders FC Pune City but only trail them by virtue of goal difference.

Starting XI

Atletico de Kolkata: Amrinder, Tiri, Rino Anto, Arnab, Augustin Fernandes, Jaime Gavilan, Borja Fernandez, Sameehg Doutie, Ofentse Nato, Baljit Sahni, Iain Hume.

Delhi Dynamos: Toni Doblas (GK), Anderson Chicao (C), John Arne Riise, Anas Edathodika, Francis, Ralte Adinga, Florent Malouda, Hans Mulder, Souvik, Robin Singh, Richard Gadze.

First Half

Sameehg Doutie replaced Javi Lara in the Atletico de Kolkata starting XI while Ralte and Adinga started for the Delhi Dynamos. Atletico de Kolkata skipper Borja Fernandez created the first chance of the game in the first minute with his cross meeting Iain Hume, but Delhi Dynamos goalkeeper Doblas easily collected it.

Florent Malouda took charge of the game in the early minutes creating chances for Ralte and Francis, but none of them threatened Atletico de Kolkata’s defense. Borja Fernandez was once again in the mix of things as his shot was poorly cleared by Anas. Soon Malouda had a shot from Ralte’s throw, but his shot was blocked. Atletico de Kolkata enjoyed more possession in the opening minutes of the games, but both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances.

Soon, Atletico de Kolkata had a chance to go up, but Doutie’s powerful cross which met Iain Hume went directly to Doblas, as the Canadian striker should have done better to put his team a goal up. Delhi Dynamos also had a similar chance when Souvik’s cross found Malouda, who was unmarked, but it went over the crossbar.

Riise’s misplaced pass saw Iain Hume intercept it, but Doblas came out of his line to foul Hume, and Gavilan failed to create anything out of the subsequent free-kick. Few minutes later, Gavilan had another effort from a free-kick, but Baljit Sahni failed to put it inside the net.

Delhi Dynamos’ striker Robin Singh had his first chance of the game from a Malouda cross, but a poor effort from the Indian international saw the header go wide. Doutie tried his luck from distance, but it went straight into the hands of Doblas. Just before the break, Riise picked up a yellow card for bringing down Iain Hume, while Baljit Sahni also received a yellow card for a foul on Malouda.

Second Half

The first chance of the second half came through Doutie, but Riise was up to it and headed it away. Atletico de Kolkata must have felt robbed after Chicao stamped Doutie on the chest, which looked like a clear red card, but the referee strangely let that one go. Minutes later, Gavilan had a free-kick in a dangerous area, but it went directly to Doblas.

The referee made another error after Anas foul on Hume left him bleeding, but the referee instead booked Iain Hume for protesting. Soon Augustin’s pass found Doutie, but his shot goes wide. The first change of the game came from Delhi Dynamos with Marmentini coming in for Gadze, and minutes later Roberto Carlos came in for John Arne Riise with the crowd erupting with his introduction.

Doutie, who had been lively throughout the game, had another chance from a Gavilan pass, but it was deflected by Roberto Carlos. Atletico de Kolkata made their first change in the 70th minute with Jewel Raja coming in for Baljit Sahni. Soon, a Roberto Carlos cross found Robin Singh, but it was blocked.

Souvik Chakrabarti was sent off in the 81st minute after he was booked for the second time in the day for a poor foul on Gavilan. Delhi Dynamos had another chance in the game after Malouda had a shot from a Dos Santos pass, but Arnab Mondal did well to block it.

Atletico de Kolkata substituted Doutie for Sushil Singh in the hope of breaking the deadlock, but it was Delhi Dynamos who took the lead in the 93rd minute after Malouda’s sublime pass from the right saw Dos Santos putting the ball into the net past a distraught Arminder Singh to take the 1-0 at the end.