Atletico de Kolkata fans might have thought of Arata Izumi, Borja Fernandez or Iain Hume to be the man to rescue them when in a spot of bother. But it wasn't the usual suspects who bailed ATK out on Wednesday when they were 1-0 down to Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
An unlikely hero sprung out of nowhere to not only score the equalising goal, but also to provide a delicious cross for Iain Hume to pounce, and he goes by the name of Sameehg Doutie.
Nadong Bhutia is usually given duty on the right wing, but it was the South African midfielder Doutie who convinced the gaffer Anotonio Lopez Habas that he can make a difference on the pitch against the Super Machans. And to everyone's surprise, he did.
The 35,000 fans at the stadium got frustrated in the first 40 minutes of the game, before Atletico de Kolkata changed gears and started to attack with real menace.
Gavilan's freekick went straight to the goalkeeper, but the latter punched out, and the ball came at striking distance of Doutie, who blasted past the Chennaiyin FC defence and into the back of the net.
The stadium was alive again. The crowd was back on their feet chanting "ATK ATK ATK!" and to some extent, this man from South Africa was responisble for bringing the "12th man" back into the game.
"I have played in both the flanks in the past and also as a number 10. So, that is nothing new for me. I'm happy to the contribute to the team's cause in whichever way I can do. We had a slow start to the competition but we have gathered pace again. The main target throughout has been to enter the last four and I believe we can do that," Doutie told Goal.com before Atletico de Kolkata took on Chennaiyin FC on Wednesday.
Imagine the level of confidence in this little man, who has come all the way from Cape Town to take part in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015. Doutie turned out to be a pocket-sized dynamite, and he will surely be on the radar of FC Goa defenders, ATK's next opponents.
This was not only an important win for the home side, but the players can also expect more and more support from the fans in their next game when they will be facing the league leaders at the same venue on Sunday.
