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[caption id="attachment_28740" align="alignnone" width="845"] Jose Molina's Atletico de Kolkata rekindles memories of inaugural ISL season | Image : ISL[/caption] Internet Desk: A last minute strike by Stephen Pearson against FC Goa a couple of nights ago, edged the inaugural champions, Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) a step closer to the playoffs in the 2016 edition of the Hero Indian Super League. ATK has been one of the most consistently successful sides of the Hero ISL with a champions tag and a semi-final finish under its belt. However, with the franchise releasing Antonio Habas and roping in Jose Molina right before the third season of the coveted tournament – many people thought that the current Atletico de Kolkata side would merely be a shadow of its former self. But with every passing encounter, the Red and White brigade has gone on to defy the odds to book themselves yet another semi-final spot. With that being said, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Kolkata-based ISL franchise which – although started the 2016 ISL campaign with much promise and vigor – lost much of its momentum midway into the tournament; much like the 2014 edition of the same. So much so that the eerie resemblance of Atletico de Kolkata’s 2014 campaign with that of the present one, might urge many of its fans to believe that their favorite side is on the verge of yet another Indian Super League triumph this season. With a couple of home matches to go, Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) currently occupies the second position on the league table with a figure of 12-4-6-2-18. Having scored 15 goals and conceded 13, Jose Molina’s side has racked up an average of 1.5 points per match. During Antonio Habas’ first season in charge, ATK finished third in the league table with figures of 14-4-7-3-19 and an average point per match of 1.4 which is just a mere 0.1 less than that of the current ISL campaign. Moreover, at the end of the league stage of the 2014 Hero Indian Super League season, Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) maintained a goal difference of four (17 goals scored and 13 goals conceded) which is just two more than that of this season and with a couple of more matches to go, emulating the same statistic isn’t quite out of the equation. However, one might argue that defensively, Antonio Habas’ ATK was much better than Jose Molina’s ATK and he wouldn’t be completely wrong. The Red and White brigade has maintained a total of only two clean sheets this season which is not at all impressive when compared to eight clean sheets that the franchise had racked up in 2014. Moreover, during Antonio Habas’ inaugural season ATK had an impressive 388 successful tackles under its kitty – 132 more than the current season. But at the end of the what matters is three hard-earned points and Jose Molina would be hoping to earn the same in his side’s remaining two home matches in the franchise’s quest to clinch yet another playoff berth and hopefully the coveted ISL trophy for the second time in three seasons.