Arata brace seals last minute ATK victory over Kerala in insane goalfest at Kochi

Starting Line-Ups:

Kerala Blasters FC - Stephen Bywater, Saumik Dey, Bruno Perone, Peter Ramage, Rahul Bheke, Josue Currais, Mehtab Hossain, Ishfaq Ahmed, Sanchez Watt, Chris Dagnall, Mohammed Rafi

Atletico de Kolkata - Amrinder Singh, Tiri, Oftense Nato, Denzil Franco, Nalappan Mohanraj, Sameehg Doutie, Borja Fernandez, Mohammed Rafique, Rino Anto, Jaime Gavilan, Iain Hume

AN INSANE 3-GOAL CLIMAX saw Atletico de Kolkata pull off yet another last-minute winner over Kerala Blasters as the finalists from last year went head to head tonight at Kochi. The defending ISL champions left as the victors by a 3-2 margin, thanks to a brace from Arata Izumi.

Both Terry Phelan and Antonio Habas had made two changes apiece. Kerala benched Sandesh Jhingan and Joao Coimbra to play Bruno Perone and Ishfaq Ahmed. Kolkata replaced Augustin Fernandes and Jewel Raja with Rino Anto and Nalappan Mohanraj.

It was the home side which got the first good chance of the game when Josue's cross to Rafi found the latter attempt a header but he missed the target.

But the defending champions slowly took control, especially in the midfield. A couple of attacks, some of them aided by Rino Anto, earned them a few corners and saw the initial pressure build on the Kerala defence.

Kerala tried a few counters. One free kick from Josue saw Dagnall served up a good ball but he headed it off target. Another Josue free kick came off the wall.

And then it was Nalappan Mohanraj who got the first goal of the match, justifying his inclusion in the team. It was a cross from Jaime Gavilan that Mohanraj headed down. And the ball embarrassingly nutmegged Stephen Bywater to find its way home. 

Soon things seemed to be falling apart for the home side. To make matters worse Sanchez Watt picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Antonio German only 35 minutes into the match.

But the arrival of German suddenly caused a turnaround in the flow of the game that even Phelan could not have thought of. Within minutes of coming on, Bheke and Dagnall created a good chance for German and his left footer just about missed the target. Moments later, Denzil Franco had brought down Josue Currais inside the box and it was German who walked up to take the penalty. He converted, Kerala Blasters were level, and Denzil Franco was on the referee's book. The first half ended like that.

At the beginning of the second half ATK coach Habas replaced Rafique with Jewel Raja to try and get some extra pace going in the attacking midfield. But Kerala Blasters started the half with some threatening moves, as Josue managed to clear the defence to feed German whose finisher got blocked.

As the pressure mounted, Mehtab Hossain made a nasty foul on Gavilan and picked up a yelow card. 

Then German invaded the ATK box once again and it took a brilliant dive from Amrinder Singh to keep out his shot.

Then it was Rafi who ran straight in and set up Dagnall who let fly from just outside the penalty box. His shot had Amrinder beaten but it missed the target by a few inches.

And then Mohammad Rafi made a good run to find himself inside the box within scoring range but Rino Anto brought him down. There were fervent appeals for what should have been an obvious penalty for ATK but the referee did not agree and gestured to play on.

The coaches made some further tweaks to the game as the 70 minute mark approached. Phelan replaced Josue Currais with Joao Coimbra and Habas brought Arata Izumi back into action by taking Gavilan out.

Coimbra got into the game immediately and his threatening run with the ball attracted a particularly ill-executed tackle from goal-scorer Nalappan Mohanraj. The referee showed him the yellow card. 

Two more substitutions took place as the match built up towards a pulsating climax. Denzil Franco made way for Valdo and Chris Dagnall was replaced by Pulga.

By now the match was into its last 10 minutes and suddenly things went insane.

First there was the Valdo scoop that got Iain Hume a clear shot at the goal. He executed a well-timed volley but the ball hit the post. Frustration for ATK. But next minute it turned into sheer joy when Arata Izumi made a stinging run past a couple of Kerala defenders and sent a sensational right footer blazing into the net. Atletico de Kolkata were leading 2-1 with 84 minutes on the clock.

But the Blasters blasted their way into the game and it was Antonio German at the thick of it again. Pulga made the run, sent in the cross, it hit Oftense Nato and went straight to German. The British striker sent the ball whistling past Amrinder Singh to make it 2-2.

Two goals within two minutes. The match was on fire. But it wasn't over. As the contest entered injury time, the defending champions had one more card up their sleeve.

Sameehg Doutie sent a cross that saw Arata Izumi run in to take possession inside the Kerala box. He took the shot with impunity, prompting Amrinder scurry in, but it was too late. The ball had found its home in the net. 

Atletico de Kolkata had delivered yet another last minute blow to Kerala Blasters to clinch victory.

It's utter heartbreak for Kerala Blasters. Not only does this bring back painful memories of the inaugural ISL final but also means that their campaign is now in serious danger as they languish at the bottom with 8 points from 9 matches. While a top four finish is still nothing impossible but they are 5 points behind from the team placed 4th now; and with just 5 matches to go, that's a lot of making up to do.

As for Atletico de Kolkata, they are the team place 4th, with 13 points from 9 matches, 5 points above Kerala. They may well get knocked down from their seat among the top 4 if Mumbai or Chennai win their next match, but this win will mean a lot to Habas. Grinding out results in difficult situations is what saw ATK soldier through a tough regular season and in the end win the final. A result like this, to the Kolkata coach and fans, will signal that the players have re-acquiired that spirit, that will to keep fighting till the last moment. They can thank Arata Izumi for this wonderful Diwali gift he has given them with his comeback performance, after the disappointing loss to NorthEast United at home on Saturday.

For Kerala, it will be a do or die encounter when they travel to Guwahati to face NorthEast United on Sunday. The points table is expanding now and the gap between teams at the top and the bottom is increasing. One more loss may just deal a death blow that their campaign can never recover from. As for Atletico de Kolkata, their difficult away match against Delhi Dynamos on Saturday will be a more stern test for their mettle. If they win, they will be able to stake a real claim to a top 4 berth. 

As we enter the last few weeks of regular season, things are coming to a head. And for both these teams, it's now or never to prove their worth.