Dudu Omagbemi celebrates after scoring Pune City’s first goal, at the Salt Lake Stadium, on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Atletico de Kolkata’s six-match unbeaten run came to a grinding halt, while Antonio Lopez Habas and Fikru Teferra’s return after two-match suspensions turned to be a nightmare under the glare of the Salt Lake Stadium lights, on Friday.

The ISL toppers were sloppy throughout and deservingly handed a 1-3 hiding by FC Pune City, who were sixth in the standings before the kick-off.

Man of the Match Dudu Omagbemi scored the opening goal in the 35th minute and ten minutes into the second half Greece World Cupper Kostas Katsouranis made it 2-0 with a stunning shot from 30 yards out. Fikru gave the hosts a glimmer of hope when he converted a penalty in the 84th minute.

But all such hopes went up in smoke after Davide Colomba’s free-kick hit the back of the net two minutes later.

It was a forgettable evening for the league toppers. Luis Garcia was hardly visible, Cavin Lobo made some aimless running, Borja Fernandes and Ofentse Nato were pathetic as defensive midfielders and the least said about the defence the better.

Pune City had a clear plan. Defend in numbers and catch ATK napping on the break. Dudu was the single man upfront tormenting and teasing the rival defence. He picked out Josemi as his bunny and made the Spaniard’s life miserable.

Getting a start since David Trezeguet decided to stay back at Pune, the Nigerian grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He was very fast with his movement and that was something the ATK defence did not envisage. They had no clue to what’s happening every time Dudu had the ball. He was perfectly complemented by the likes of John Goosens, Davide and Israil Gurung.

Take the first goal for example. When Davide left Kingshuk Debnath for the dead on the left flank, Dudu was marked by Nato in the middle. But in a flash he found enough open space to leap high and head it in.

Interestingly, ATK were one man down when they conceded the first goal as Josemi was undergoing treatment after suffering a cut inside of the lower lip while going for an aerial tussle with Dudu. “Nato was not quick enough in retreating and with a man down in a back-four it was all the more difficult to peg back the No. 23 (Dudu),” Josemi said in the mixed zone.

The goal of the match and probably the tournament came in the second half. Kostas got a loose ball in the centre circle. He took Lobo in his stride and then realised ATK goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Choudhury was out of his place. A 30-yard shot with his ‘outstep’ hit the back of the net giving Roy Choudhury hardly a chance to move. Agreed it took a deflection off Arnab Mondal’s shoulder, still it’s a world-class goal which came out of the blue and silenced the home crowd. Kostas did not even wait for the ball to hit the back of the net. The moment he unleashed, he ran towards one of the hospitality boxes where suspended manager Franco Colomba was sitting. Clenched fist and animated, Kostas was over the moon and so was his manager.

After the second goal, when everyone thought it’s over, Pune City goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya thought it was his duty to keep the game alive. Nervous throughout the match, Arindam rammed into teammate Goosens who injured his back badly and had to be replaced. He then collided with Fikru at the top of the box to concede a penalty which could have been avoided.

Fikru made no mistake and the stadium sensing a comeback woke up from slumber. But Davide had other ideas.

ATK gave away a free-kick just outside the box and Davide’s shot took a deflection off Debnath and nestled into near corner.

That killed off the contest and it was too tough a task for ATK even after referee MB Santhosh Kumar gave six minutes of injury-time.

Staying unbeaten for six matches is a commendable job, but the ATK will have to raise their game by a few notches if they want to go the distance. They have the class and fans will hope Friday’s just a minor blip.

TEAMS

FC Pune City: Arindam Bhattacharya; Pritam Kotal, Daniele Magliocchetti, Bruno Cirillo, Dharamraj Ravanan, Israil Gurung, Davide Colomba (Park Kwang-il 90+3), Kostas Katsouranis, Lenny Rodrigues, John Goosens (Saidou Mady 80), Dudu Omagbemi.

Atletico de Kolkata: Subhasish Roy Chowdhury; Kingshuk Debnath, Josemi, Arnab Mondal, Bishwajit Saha, Borja Feranadez, Ofentse Nato (Mohammed Rafi 85), Cavin Lobo, Luis Garcia (Jakub Podany 72), Baljit Singh Sahni (Lester Fernandez 74), Fikru Teferra.

MoM: Dudu Omagbemi

Referee: MB Santhosh Kumar