Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) defeated Delhi Dynamos FC 4-3 on Friday in a thrilling Super Cup quarter-final encounter played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Steve Coppell, ATK's head coach sprung a surprise as he decided to swap Edu Garcia with Everton Santos in the playing XI.
On the other hand, Josep Gombau, Delhi's coach decided to field a strong starting XI which included the likes of Lallianzuala Chhangte, Nandhakumar Sekar, Gianni Zuiverloon.
Both the teams decided to play with an attacking mindset throughout the match. Delhi had the first big chance of the match as Narayan Das found Nandhakumar unmarked inside the ATK box. But he was unable to capitalise on the opportunity.
The first goal finally came on the 15th minute through a set-piece. Mohammed Sajid Dhot scored for Delhi.
ATK toiled hard for a quick equaliser and they were finally able to level the scoreline as Balwant Singh provided the team with a goal.
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Five minutes later, the Kolkata-based side struck again and took the lead. Manuel Lanzarote scored to put ATK in front on the 28th minute before Balwant made it 3-1 on the 34-minute mark.
ATK were running away with the game but Delhi's Daniel Lalhlimpuia had different ideas. The striker was able to show good reflexes which enabled him to pull a goal back for the team. At the half time mark, ATK were leading 3-2.
In the second half, Delhi tried to force the pace of the game and they were able to keep the majority of the possession. But it was ATK who were able to score the first goal in the second half, as Balwant Singh scored again to register his hat-trick.
After gaining the lead, ATK started to exercise their influence on the match as they controlled the tempo of the match. But Delhi clawed their way back in the game as Nanda Kumar scored for the team in the 72nd minute.
ATK was leading 4-3 in the final minutes of the game and they were able to hang on to finally register the win in the quarter-final encounter.
With the victory, ATK moves on to the final four of the competition and will take on the winner of the NorthEast United FC vs Chennaiyin FC match on Sunday in the semi-finals.