ATK, Kolkata (Reserve) and George Telegraph football teams before the quarterfinal of the Governor's Gold Cup in Gangtok on Sunday. Photo: Sagar Chhetri

ATK, Kolkata (Reserve) sailed into the semifinal of the All India Governor’s Gold Cup International Football Tournament being held at Paljor Stadium.

In the second quarterfinal match, a young squad of ATK, Kolkata thrashed George Telegraph, Kolkata by a margin of 5-1 goals to reserve its berth in the semifinal of the tournament. It was the debut appearance for ISL club, ATK Kolkata in the tournament.

With a fast attacking game, ATK players maintained a pressure on the opponent. Thomyo Shimray drew the first blood for ATK in the 11th minute and his teammate, Brandon Green doubled the lead in the 14th minute.

When George Telegraph players were playing hard to bounce back into the match, SK Azaruddin extended the lead of ATK to 3-0 in the 36th minute and within four minutes his teammate, Ashish Jha took the lead to 4-0. A goal by SK Raja for George Telegraph in the 42nd minute reduced the margin.

George Telegraph players played their hearts out to come back in the match and even got some good opportunities but missed the net. With another goal by a substitute, Aman Thapa in the 75th minute, ATK sealed the victory to progress into the semi-final round of the tournament.

The third quarterfinal match will be played between the home team, Sikkim Aakraman Football Club and another ISL team, Bengaluru Football Club (Reserve) on Monday at 2 pm.

Sagar Chhetri is Northeast Now Correspondent in Gangtok. He can be reached at: [email protected]