ISL 2015: Atletico de Kolkata prove that trying to tame Delhi Dynamos comes with a lot of risk

In an exciting game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Studium in New Delhi, Atletico de Kolkata showed how to tame Delhi Dynamos and the inherent risks of attempting to do the same. The visitors’ approach to this game was closer to Northeast United FC, who dominated Delhi but managed only a 1-1 draw on 3 November – and unlike that of Mumbai City FC, which came to Delhi with a very defensive attitude, and also managed a 1-1 draw. Delhi had the stronger start and controlled the game for the first 10 minutes. Winger Seiminlen ‘Len’ Doungel did well to cross the ball to Florent Malouda just outside the box, but Malouda back-heeled it, preferring a composed attack. In the follow-up, midfielder Chicao sent a lofted pass to Len, but the ball fell behind him. Two minutes later, Delhi’s left-back Ralte ‘Adinga’ sent in a dangerous aerial cross, cleared by the Kolkata goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, with Delhi forward Robin Singh’s head inches away. [caption id=“attachment_2477652” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Roberto Carlos. ISL[/caption] Kolkata were quick to respond with aerial balls into the box for Iain Hume, who has great ability in the air even if he is not the tallest of forwards. This is when Kolkata’s midfield upped the ante and wrested control. Delhi began losing the ball to Kolkata’s pressing, and the miscued passes created attacking moves for Kolkata. Delhi’s defence was tested by Hume and the energetic Valdo Rocha. Hume made incisive runs vertically to exploit the space between Delhi’s midfield and defence, while Valdo moved sideways and diagonally, stretching Delhi out of shape. This warp and weft was assisted by Sameehg Doutie and Jaime Gavilan joining the party from the midfield, with Jewel Raja Sheikh holding back slightly to help Borja Fernandez in central midfield. Delhi’s defenders needing to block shot after shot. Kolkata’s attackers rotated around, finding width and space all too easily with sharp off-the-ball runs. Delhi were not allowed the composure they have pulled off in their better games. Their midfield could not cope with the pace and movement. Holding midfielder Chicao’s lack of speed showed here, with his partner Hans Mulder getting harried to cover the space all too readily available to Kolkata. Now Delhi was looking to hit Kolkata on the counter, but its movement lacked intent. Gustavo dos Santos, darling of the crowds for the excitement he brings with his pace on the wings, was particularly quiet and ineffective. Delhi manager Roberto Carlos put him on the right wing in this game, although his best performances have come when he runs on the left wing and tries to cut back in. Kolkata’s goal in the 27th minute may have resulted from an error by Delhi’s goalkeeper Tony Doblas, but it came as no surprise. Kolkata had the momentum. His poor reading of right-back Rino Anto’s low cross led to a scuffed clearance fell to Hume. Delhi’s efforts took a while to come. Chicao moved up and provided a couple of good lofted passes. Adinga got in a good cross from the left, but Robin Singh looked a little leaden in reaching for it. He complained about the special attention he was getting from Kolkata centre-back Augustine Fernandes, who was getting under his skin. It was a surprise that Carlos did not make a change at half time, because it was looking like Kolkata’s game. The substitution came ten minutes into the second half, with an end to dos Santos’s forgettable evening. Richard Gadze has been more successful as a substitute than as a starter; he immediately showed more purpose and penetration. Kolkata’s intensity dropped, and Delhi was smelling blood. Robin and Malouda did well in the 60th minute to feed Gadze on the edge of the Kolkata box. The forward showed good strength in getting rid of Fernandes, and then showed skill to thump in the equaliser. Given that Kolkata has failed to keep any clean sheets, their manager Antonio Habas needed to make some changes to wrest the initiative. He had announced his marquee player Helder Postiga was match fit and on the bench. But he did not make any changes, and towards the later stages his team picked up three yellow cards for reckless fouls. It was Carlos who made an attacking move, taking out Mulder from the centre and putting in forward Adil Nabi in the 63rd minute. From here on, the game was Delhi’s to win. Gadze hit the post and Robin’s on-target header beat the keeper, only to be cleared off the line by Fernandes. Delhi’s takeaways from this game were the performances by Len, Adinga and Anas Edathodika. Not to mention Malouda, who has assisted five of their seven goals from open play and Gadze, who changed the tempo and brought the equaliser. Kolkata will be the happier of the the two sides, both with their one point in an away game and their attacking form.