A change in coach failed to turn around ATK’s fortunes as Ashley Westwood’s side fell to a 1-2 defeat at home to new league leaders Chennaiyin FC.

Martin Paterson gave ATK the lead in the dying embers of the first half, but Chennaiyin hit back through Mailson Alves and Jeje Lalpekhlua to grab the three points.

The talking points:

  • Teddy Sheringham’s sacking seemed to have an instant effect as interim head coach Ashley Westwood made changes in selection. Zequinha on the left, who had started every match, was dropped, as Rupert Nongrum came in for the Portuguese.
  • The team saw changes but nothing could stop Chennaiyin’s momentum as the southern outfit got high up the pitch, attacking in numbers. Keegan Pereira, in particular, found the going tough as Jeje Lalpekhlua seemed to prefer the left side early on.
  • Ryan Taylor’s wild challenge on Raphael Augusto was symptomatic of the early challenges that flew in. The Englishman’s tackle was reckless and it earned him his fourth yellow card of the season, leading to a suspension in the next match. It was needless from Taylor and not expected from a seasoned pro.
  • It didn’t stop there. Minutes later, an old Westwood hand, Shankar Sampingiraj went in late on Anirudh Thapa and was yellow-carded for his troubles. ATK, in general, were sluggish in the tackle and seemed one step behind their opponents.
  • Chennaiyin did everything but score in the first half. While their defensive fortifications in the form of Henrique Sereno and Mailson Alves were rock solid, the Indian pairing of Dhanpal Ganesh and Anirudh Thapa pulled the strings in midfield.
  • The ‘Mehtab Hossein’ role has been lying vacant for the longest time and Ganesh is surely one of the best around not to be given a shot or an audition at the highest level. Against ATK, he stayed back while Thapa drove forward.
  • Thapa, the former Elite Academy player, has to be one of the best 20-year-olds in Indian football currently. The diminutive midfielder controlled the flow of play, linked up well with Raphael Augusto while going forward, and dropped back when required – he was justly rewarded with the Hero of the Match award.
  • ATK, on the other hand, were wasteful. Only two of their seven shots were on target as most of them were from indirect free-kick territory. It’s understandable that Westwood might have asked them to shoot more from range, but even he would have been appalled at seeing his side’s profligacy.
  • This strategy would have made sense if the shots were from 15-20 yards out. Most shots were taken from 35-40 yards out and the odds of those going in were infinitesimal. Rupert, Keegan, Shankar, Cotterill were all guilty of recklessly throwing away possession.
  • Yet, the sense of desperation was palpable as ATK had only scored 7 goals in their 10 games prior to this match. That put them level with NorthEast United as the tournament’s lowest scorers. 
  • When the goal did finally arrive, it came through the energetic Prabir Das dinking a lovely one to new signing Paterson. The 33-year-old headed it straight to Karanjit Singh, but the rebound fell kindly to him and he slotted it home at the second time of asking. It was an undeserved lead and Chennayin would have been gutted to go into half-time in arrears.
  • They came out at half-time, showing intent. Augusto hit one from just outside the box as Debjit tipped it over his bar. The goal was coming, it was a mere matter of time.
  • The refereeing standards have been rightly criticised this season. As they have dipped, so have the goalkeeping standards. As Thapa swung in a corner, the unmarked Mailson headed it goalwards but Debjit could and should have saved it. Instead, it squirmed underneath him to give the 2015 champions a deserved but opportunistic equaliser.
  • Zequinha, who came in for the injured Ryan Taylor was substituted himself with a suspected torn hamstring as the treatment table at ATK remains busy. Surely, the growing list of crocks has not escaped the club’s management.
  • The second goal was fortuitous but the ATK players were culpable. As Inigo Calderon’s cross was deflected by Jayesh Rane, the home team stopped as Chennaiyin appealed for a handball. Professionals always play to the whistle as ATK found out the hard way. The ball fell into Jeje’s path and as Debjit swiped at it, the ball deflected off the Mizo striker and went in.
  • After his first-ever ISL goal in Kolkata, Jeje, who now leads the ISL charts with 7 to his name, should have really doubled his side’s lead. A delightful run by Augusto after a poor pass by Cotterill in midfield led to the Indian international one-on-one with Debjit. His finish lacked substance as the ATK custodian must have thanked his lucky stars. It is this inconsistency of Jeje’s that make comparisons with Sunil Chhetri untenable.
  • At the other end, two injuries had robbed ATK of any substitutions. Hitesh Sharma, who had come on for Zequinha, did receive an inch-perfect ball from Keegan but the ex-Mumbai FC man could only put his header wide. 
  • Westwood’s first game in charge of ATK ended in defeat. The former Bengaluru gaffer must have rued lapses at both ends of the pitch, while John Gregory will be delighted with his side’s response to going a goal down. They marched to the top of the table, and rightly so.