Goa: Hyderabad FC put on a spirited performance to take home an advantage from the 1st leg of the semi-finals against ATK Mohun Bagan on Saturday at Bambolim. Roy Krishna (18’) opened the scoring for the Mariners but Bartholomew Ogbeche (45 +2’), Mohmmad Yasir (58’) and Javi Siverio (64’) gave HFC a 3-1 win on the night.
Still recovering from a COVID wave in the camp, Manolo Marquez’s men were superb on the night as they came back from a goal down to beat ATK Mohun Bagan. This is Manolo’s first win over a Juan Ferrando team as HFC continued their good form to take it to six wins from their last five league games. This is also HFC’s first ever win over ATK Mohun Bagan in their history.
Roy Krishna found the net less than 20 minuets in after Liston Colaco put in a dangerous cross inside the box. Laxmikant Kattimani was helpless and the Mariners looked strong at the start but HFC managed to find a foot hold in the game and slowly started creating chances.
And the equalizer came from a set-piece situation as Juanan put in a teasing ball after a scrap inside the box that Bart Ogbeche managed to convert. The header was well placed and Amrinder never had a chance as the two teams headed into the break on level terms.
Kattimani had a couple of decent saves to make but it was Mohmmad Yasir’s stunning strike from outside the box that finally gave Hyderabad a lead on the night. Yasir curled one in style to score just his second goal in Hyderabad colors and just minutes later, also registered an assist.
Yasir’s crosses were a menace all night and his corner just after the hour mark was headed in by Javi Siverio, who doubled HFC’s lead on the night.
Kattimani stood strong as Chinglensana Konsham, Juanan, Akash Mishra and Nim Dorjee were guarded by Joao Victor and late substitutes Khassa Camara and Sahil Tavora as Hyderabad managed to see out the game with a two-goal lead.
Aniket Jadhav and Aaren D’Silva, who came off the bench, also had notable chances as Hyderabad were the better side on the night and register an advantage going into the second leg.
Ogbeche scored his 18th goal of the season to go level with Ferran Corominas for the most goals scored in a single league season. Javi Siverio also found the net to score his seventh goal of the season.
The second leg of the semi-final will be played Wednesday as ATK Mohun Bagan welcome Hyderabad to Bambolim on March 16.
Note: This is a release from the Hyderabad FC media
