Late goals ensured a dramatic and entertaining finish as Kerala Blasters FC stole a point against ATK with a 1-1 draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.
Kerala Blasters (yellow) and ATK took one point each
Kochi:
Poplatnik threatened early for Kerala, with his header going just wide of the post while Garcia made a lively start for Kolkata at the other end. A quick Kerala breakaway at the half hour mark saw Prasanth Karuthadathkuni cross the ball towards a danger area, but John Johnson was there to prevent Sahal Abdul Samad from getting a decisive touch.
Poplatnik once again threatened with a header, but goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya managed to palm the ball away. The visitor nearly took the lead against the run of play towards the closing stages of the first period, with Garcia unleashing a fierce shot towards the top-right corner.
Dheeraj Singh produced a magnificent fingertip save to deny the Spaniard. The host should have taken the lead at the hour mark as Slavisa Stojanovic found himself unmarked in the box, but the Serbian blasted his shot high and wide. Minutes later, Poplatnik got plenty of power behind his shot from Prasanth’s lay-off, for which ATK custodian Arindam pulled off an excellent save.
Kerala’s poor finishing came back to bite it in the closing stages, with ATK earning a free-kick in a dangerous area. Garcia stepped up and his low shot sneaked under the ATK wall to beat Dheeraj. The home side equalised just minutes later, with Poplatnik putting the ball into the net. Prasanth’s cross from the right was headed down by Poplatnik, which took a touch off Vieira to beat the custodian.
New recruit Edu Garcia’s free-kick in the 85th minute gave ATK the lead, but a Matej Poplatnik goal just three minutes later saw the spoils shared. Nelo Vingada rang in the changes in his first match in charge of the Blasters, with Nikola Krcmarevic and Poplatnik given starts. ATK coach Steve Coppell welcomed Kalu Uche back into the team while new recruits Pritam Kotal and Edu Garcia were also included in the starting XI.
Poplatnik threatened early for Kerala, with his header going just wide of the post while Garcia made a lively start for Kolkata at the other end. A quick Kerala breakaway at the half hour mark saw Prasanth Karuthadathkuni cross the ball towards a danger area, but John Johnson was there to prevent Sahal Abdul Samad from getting a decisive touch.
Poplatnik once again threatened with a header, but goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya managed to palm the ball away. The visitor nearly took the lead against the run of play towards the closing stages of the first period, with Garcia unleashing a fierce shot towards the top-right corner.
Dheeraj Singh produced a magnificent fingertip save to deny the Spaniard. The host should have taken the lead at the hour mark as Slavisa Stojanovic found himself unmarked in the box, but the Serbian blasted his shot high and wide. Minutes later, Poplatnik got plenty of power behind his shot from Prasanth’s lay-off, for which ATK custodian Arindam pulled off an excellent save.
Kerala’s poor finishing came back to bite it in the closing stages, with ATK earning a free-kick in a dangerous area. Garcia stepped up and his low shot sneaked under the ATK wall to beat Dheeraj. The home side equalised just minutes later, with Poplatnik putting the ball into the net. Prasanth’s cross from the right was headed down by Poplatnik, which took a touch off Vieira to beat the custodian.