ISL: ATK-Jamshedpur tie ends in stalemate

Jamshedpur, [India], Oct 21 (ANI): A sturdy show put up by ATK defenders at the back and a goalless second-half ensured that the in-form Jamshedpur FC were held to a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League match, played at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur, on Sunday.
Sergio Cidoncha broke the deadlock giving Jamshedpur the upper hand as he found the back of the net in 35th-minute via freekick. But, ATK's Manuel Lanzarote nullified the strike as he curled in a corner directly into the goal at the stroke of half-time.
Jamshedpur were attacking right from the start as ATK's Gerson Vieira cleared the ball thwarting Cidoncha from heading the ball to a Michael Soosairaj cross.
With Mario Arques dominating the midfield and simultaneously Memo denying any ATK foray at the back, hosts were in full control of the game. Meanwhile, Soosairaj crossing from the left flank into the box allowed Cidoncha to send a volley at goal from close-range. But, the strike was easily punched away by the goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.
Consequently, Cidoncha got another chance at the goal as a rebound fell to his feet. But, ATK defenders had swarmed the box to keep the forward's attempt at bay. A foul committed by Pronay Halder on Cidoncha just outside the box gave Jamshedpur an opportunity. The Spaniard made most of the moment as he got lucky the third time sending the ball into the bottom right corner with goalkeeper Arindam erring in judging the bounce.
ATK equalised against the run of play on the stroke of half-time with another goalkeeping mistake. Lanzarote's in-swinging corner flew directly into the net after the goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury failed to punch it. In the second half, John Johnson and Gerson Vieira held firm as the hosts failed to find a gap in ATK's backline.
On the 60th minute, a free-kick from the left by Lanzarote took entire Jamshedpur backline out of the equation. The near-post delivery missed Johnson by a whisker.
Jamshedpur almost made the scoreline 2-1 at the end when Carlos Calvo's cross was headed just over by Mario Arques. (ANI)