ISL 2019: ATK holds bottom-placed Hyderabad FC to a 2-2 draw

Second-placed ATK held debutant Hyderabad FC to a 2-2 draw in an engrossing Indian Super League clash at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium on Saturday. Having been placed at the bottom of the points table, it seemed Hyderabad FC were in for their second win of the season when Bobo scored the second goal as he headed in a beautiful ball from Marcelinho in the 85th minute.

The first half began on a competitive note, with both sides standing at a 1-1 draw margin after 45 minutes of play. Having won only one game out of the total eight, Phil Brown’s men looked to forge a turnaround in its fortunes against a fiery ATK. Not that Marcelinho and Co. did not stand by the plan, Bobo slid in a gorgeous header to equalise 1-1 after opponents were gifted a penalty that saw ATK lead by a 1-0 margin. It was a Roy Krishna show who stepped up again at the right time, scoring his seventh goal of the season. 

The 90 minutes of play saw a series of refereeing errors. Clearly, Hyderabad made a comeback through Bobo’s header and Kamaljit’s saves. Kamaljit dispossessed David Williams with a brilliant save who advanced with a forward pass to a formidable Roy Krishna in the 72nd minute. The 85th minute saw Bobo march ahead with a brilliant left-foot assist from Marcelinho that led to a header. But the joy was short-lived. Just in the 90th minute, ATK’s Javi Fernandez pushed in a brilliant header to find Krishna lifting the ball above Kamaljit and equalise the score to 2-2. 

Although refereeing decisions haunted Hyderabad in the entire 90 minutes, Bobo did his task to gain the momentum for the team. Krishna made it too tough a task for Hyderabad who could not capitalise the 2-1 advantage.