ISL 2015 : Delhi Dynamos vs Atletico de Kolkata

Delhi Dynamos and Atletico de Kolkata locked horns at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. Canadian striker Iain Hume opened the scoring for the defending champions, while Richard Gadze came off the bench to score the equalizer for the home side. Here are the 5 talking points of the game.

#1 Toni Doblas made a costly error

Doblas was at fault as Kolkata opened the scoring last night

Antonio Doblas Santana was responsible for the first goal conceded by the Delhi Dynamos around the half-hour mark. A good cross from Rino Anto from the right side forced Doblas to come out and clear it, but he made an awful error to send it straight to Iain Hume, who was just two yards away from him, and he made no mistakes to blast it into the net.

A couple of minutes later, Doblas almostgifted Atletico de Kolkata with another goal, with him struggling to clear Gavilans long range shot, and it was just short of Iain Hume, who was once again present in the right place at the right time.

The Spaniard otherwise has performed brilliantlyas the Delhi Dynamos have conceded the least number of the goals till nowand has made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the tournament.

#2 Atletico de Kolkata fail to keep a clean sheet once again

Atletico de Kolkata will be concerned with their inability to keep clean sheets in the run up to the semis

Atletico de Kolkata have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last ten games, with their last clean sheet coming in the final of the inaugural season against Kerala Blasters. The defending champions have clearly missed their key defender Josemi, who has returned to Spain due to injury, and has been replaced by former Serbian international Dejan Lekic.

Habas started with the Augustin Fernandes and Tiri at the back, with Mohanraj and Anto as full backs, but they proved to be ineffective and the lack of experience was clear to see. Ofentse Nato who has previously featured in the defense alongside Tiri was left out of the squad.

Richard Gadze, who was brought on for Dos Santos, leveled it up for Delhi Dynamos in the 61st minute from a Florent Malouda pass, who made a clever turn to outsmart Augsutin Fernandes, and find the top left corner of the goal.

#3 John Arne Riise and Adil Nabi shine for Delhi Dynamos

Riise(R) put in yet another solid display and dealt with the threat of Hume well

Experienced defender John Arne Riise came out with another top performance for the Delhi Dynamos. The former Champions League winner with Liverpool made several blocks and clearances to earn his team a crucial draw. Delhi Dynamos have conceded just 8 goals in 9 games so far in the tournament, which is the least for any side, and a lot of credit goes to Riise who has made a transition from the left-back position to centre-back in the Indian Super League.

West Bromwich Albion youngster Adil Nabi came on in the 63rd to make an immediate impact in the game. Nabi, who has featured for England’s youth sides, made a few exceptional passes, and created a great opportunity for Gadze to give Delhi the lead, but he was denied by the post. The 21-year-old also had a couple of efforts on the goal saved by Arminder Singh.

#4 Poor management from Habas

Habas’ handling of his players was suspect to say the least last night

Atletico de Kolkata, who took the lead in the 27th minute of the game through Iain Hume after a goalkeeping howler from Antonio Doblas, started the game strongly and after the lead they looked like the team more likely to score again, but that changed quickly after the break. Delhi Dynamos were on the front foot in the second half, and the lack of substitutions played a major factor in that.

The defending champions had players who looked tired on the pitch, but the only substitution Habas made was for the injured Nallappan Mohanraj, who was stretchered off, with Arnab Mondal coming on to replace him.

Roberto Carlos, on the other hand, used his substitutions quite well to keep his side fresh in the game, and that eventually paid off when substitute Richard Gadze, who was brought on for Dos Santos, scored the equalizer for the home side. Atletico de Kolkata despite having game changers like Helder Postiga and Arata Izumi on the bench, preferred not to use them.

#5 Atletico de Kolkata more effective on the road

Atletico will be quite happy with their away form and would want to do the same in front of their fans

Atletico de Kolkata once again came out with a good result away from home, while teams prefer playing at home in front of their fans, this doesn’t look like the case for Atletico de Kolkata. Atletico have just won three games out of 11 they have played in front of their home crowd since the beginning of the ISL, while managing three away wins this season alone.

The defending champions have managed 11 points away from home this season and just three points at home. The only points they have earned at home came against Kerala Blasters in a 2-1 win at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Chennaiyin FC managed 11 points away from home last season, and the defending champions have matched that record with tonight’s result, but they won’t be able to break it as the rest of the games in the group stages for Atletico de Kolkata are all at their home ground.