David Williams starred for ATK, as he found the target twice in the second half, to help the host down defending champion Bengaluru FC 3-1 and book a berth in the Indian Super League (ISL) final for the third time.
The second leg of the semifinal at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday had all the ingredients of a thriller as ATK made a spectacular comeback from a goal down before pulling through 3-2 on aggregate.
With a crowd of more than 50,000 rooting for the home side, its attacking duo of Williams and Roy Krishna, who scored the team's opening goal, delivered for the hosts. Bengaluru’s Ashique Kuruniyan scored the only goal for Bengaluru.
Ashique strikes
Bengaluru produced the early threat with a counterattack in the fifth minute. Ashique, one of the two changes the visitors made in the absence of the suspended Nishu Kumar and injured Albert Serran, scored a goal, latching on to a diagonal pass from Nili Perdomo. The host disputed the goal as Nili, the other replacement in the Bengaluru line-up, seemed to have handled the ball while intercepting a pass from Williams before releasing Ashique.
Stunned by the reverse, ATK took time to regroup and had its first opportunity in the 23rd minute when Williams had a look at goal. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, however, produced a fantastic save to deny the Australian. However, the India goalkeeper could not protect his clean sheet for long as the host got its act together at the half-hour mark.
ATK’s equaliser was the result of a superb exchange of passes that saw Prabir Das running clear on the right to essay an inch-perfect cross to Krishna, who sent the ball to the roof of the net with a left-footed half-volley.
Given the big task of scoring two more goals to ensure the required margin in the final 45 minutes, ATK kept pressing hard after the break. Suresh Singh Wangjam, the Bengaluru FC right-back, committed the costly error inside his own box by tripping Williams, who made no mistake with the penalty.
Another brilliant assist from Das, who provided a perfect cross to the centre in the 79th minute, had Williams nodding home the third.
ATK will meet former champion Chennaiyin FC in the title clash in Goa on March 14 (Saturday).
The result: ATK 3 (Roy Krishna 30, David Williams 63-pen, 79) bt Bengaluru FC 1 (Ashique Kuruniyan 5).
