ATK warms up for ISL opener with friendly rout

Atletico de Kolkata beat local side Dipendu Biswas XI 4-0 in a warmup game ahead of its Indian Super League season opener next week.

Published : Sep 25, 2016 21:32 IST

Atletico de Kolkata marquee player Helder Postiga in action.
Atletico de Kolkata marquee player Helder Postiga in action.
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Atletico de Kolkata marquee player Helder Postiga in action.

Atletico Dè Kolkata put four goals past Dipendu Biswas XI in a practice match at the Bidhannagar Sports Complex in Kolkata.

It was a comprehensive victory for the ISL Kolkata franchise which could have scored a few more had it been more prolific. It dominated the match right from the beginning in terms of passing, pressing and possession with Portugese World Cupper Helder Postiga opening the scoring an easy tap-in from an assist by Sameegh Doutie.

The opponent tried to create a few openings in the first half with Ivory Coast striker Dodos shooting a few long-rangers. The away team even came close on numerous occasions when Debjit Majumdar had to be called for action. But the score at half time was ATK leading by one goal.

In the second half, ATK head coach Jose Molina introduced fresh legs to have a look at them before the first ISL match a week from now. Spaniard Juan Belencoso, who came on as a substitute, scored right after the restart from an assist by Jewel Raja.

Mercurial Ian Hume added a third after collecting a pass from by Bidyananda Singh midway through the second half. In the dying stages of the match, new signing Bikramjit Singh scored a solo goal from outside the 18 yard box after dribbling past three opponents.

ATK got a few more chances but it couldn't capitalise. Overall it exhibited a well disciplined performance right till the end. This victory will give it a lot of confidence ahead of the league opener next week.

"I am happy with the way the boys came together and displayed their skills. These are early days and we are trying different combinations at the moment. There is still some room for improvement though and we will work on them over next few days," said Molina.

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