ATK had the last laugh as El Maimouni came on from the bench to give the Kolkata side the winning goal after a brilliant run from Jayesh Rane.
Balwant Singh scored ATK’s first goal of the season as the visitors beat Delhi Dynamos 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday to register their first win of the season.
ATK attacked from the beginning of the match and drew first blood in the 19th minute through a Balwant Singh curler. Manuel Lanzarote played Balwant in and the Indian international shifted inside to his right foot and curled past the keeper.
Dynamos skipper Pritam Kotal then equalised at the start of the second half with a header from close range off a Rene Mihelic corner in the 55th minute.
But ATK had the last laugh as El Maimouni came on from the bench to give the Kolkata side the winning goal after a brilliant run from Jayesh Rane.
ATK were yet to score a goal and had slumped to defeats on the bounce at home. This win lifts them to sixth position with three points, pushing Delhi Dynamos, who continue to look for their first win, to the seventh position with just one point.
The home side were without Bikramjit Singh, Gianni Zuiverloon and Marcos Tebar missed out due to injuries but coach Josep Gombau gave a first start of the season to defender Marti Crespi. His opposite number Steve Coppell also made a couple of changes as Kalu Uche and Komal Thatal made their debuts.
Uche made his inclusion in the squad count, standing out for ATK as he created a number of chances in the first half to trouble the Dynamos keeper.
A minute away from half-time, ATK were on the verge of doubling their lead with a dangerous cross from the right but Francisco Ramon Dorronsoro Sanchez did well to punch it away from the penalty box to avoid further danger.
The second half began with Shubham Sarangi finding space outside the penalty area, but his shot on goal was deflected by John Johnson for a corner before the home side manages to score one to nullify ATK’s lead.
With two substitutions in the second half, replacing Sarangi with Adria Carmona and Romeo Fernandes for Nandhakumar Sekar, the hosts were infused with fresh energy that saw another chance being created with Crespi’s shot from inside the box being saved by ATK keeper Arindam Bhattacharya. Nandhakumar Sekar’s effort later was flagged off-target.
Coppell made two substitutions, with Komal being replaced by Jayesh Rane and Uche being removed to make way for Noussair, who scored the winning goal of the night.
Delhi Dynamos will next face Kerala Blasters on Saturday in their first away match in Kochi. ATK play Jamshedpur FC on Sunday.