The defending champions were down for the count after losing three matches in a row. Nothing seemed to go right for Antonio Lopez Habas’ team until they landed in Mumbai and stunned high-flying Mumbai City FC 4-1.
The victory not just provided a new ray of hope for Atletico de Kolkata but also got them within sniffing distance of the table leaders. They are now placed fourth with 10 points and a win will bring them among the top three.
“We had to activate the team. Fortunately everything worked against Mumbai City. Different day, different match. It’s important that the players remain positive,” Habas had said after the victory over Mumbai City.
That night hero for Atletico de Kolkata was Iain Hume. The Canadian striker had gone without scoring a goal in six matches. He was doing all the hard work but there was no sign of any goal from the man who won the Golden Ball last year. Suddenly there was a flood of goals as Hume scored a hat-trick against Mumbai which pleased his coach.
“He is a good player who can play in any position. He can play from right winger to defender because he's fantastic,” said Habas.
NorthEast United FC, on other hand needed a spectacular free kick from their marquee player Simao Sabrosa to give them a point against Delhi Dynamos in the previous match.
Delhi Dynamos seemed to have done just enough to script victory at home but the Portuguese and Barcelona winger rose from the bench to score within seconds of taking the field.
That performance would have given encouragement to coach Cesar Farias, who knows that three points from their next match against the defending champions will lift them out of the bottom and get them close to those teams who are entertaining hopes of a place in the semifinal.
“This draw against Delhi has given us the edge to skyrocket. And one of the most important things is that it is difficult to forget the wins or losses and move on to the next one. It is painful we lost two points especially when you played better than the other team. But in soccer, you have to put up,” said Farias.
NorthEast are at the bottom of the table with seven points from seven matches. Both their victories have come while playing at home.
ISL 2015 POINTS TABLE
| |||||||
NO
|
TEAMS
|
M
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
PTS
|
1
|
FC Goa
|
8
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
14
|
2
|
Delhi Dynamos FC
|
8
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
14
|
3
|
FC Pune City
|
8
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
13
|
4
|
Mumbai City FC
|
8
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
11
|
5
|
Atletico de Kolkata
|
7
|
3
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
10
|
6
|
Chennaiyin FC
|
8
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
10
|
7
|
Kerala Blasters FC
|
8
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
0
|
8
|
8
|
NorthEast United
|
7
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
-6
|
7
|
* Updated after Match 31 DDFC vs MCFC
| |||||||
