Despite playing lively football, Atletico de Kolkata and Delhi Dynamoshad to settle for a goalless draw Tuesday at an Indian Super League encounter here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
It was a lively first half, with both sides creating chances but neither could take the advantage and break the deadlock.
Adjudged hero of the match, Brazilian Dos Santos added spark to the Delhi attack with his runs including an 11th minute shot that was just off target and a then in the second made Atletico goalie make a desperate save.
Dutch midfielder Hans Mulder too, had the Kolkata defence up on their toes by running into space whenever left unmarked.
The Armenian custodian for Atletico, Edel Bete was again a revelation for the away side, when he parried away a Souvik Chakraborty attempt from close range.
ATK too created chances with Czech medio's Jakub Podany's constant runs through the left. His ball inside the Delhi box found Atletico makeshift right back Baljit Sahni whose shot fizzed wide of the post at the 18th minute mark.
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The Belgian goalie for Delhi Kristof Van Hout was quite outstanding too, saving whatever was hurled in his way.
The best chance of the match however fell to ATK's talismanic Ethiopian striker Fikru Teferra, just after the breather, when his attempt to shoot went in vain, as Hout dived and collected the ball off his feet.
There were some wasted attempts too from the home side, as both Santos and Danish striker Mads Junker were unable to hit the target on several occasions, owing to good defensive play from Atletico defender Arnab Mondal and Spaniard Josemi.
The stalemate however dented the confidence of the Dynamos who are at 14 points from 12 games and are placed 5th on the points table, whereas ATK still has chances of making it to the play offs with 18 points from same number of games and are currently third at the points table behind FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC.