Clinical Hyderabad stuns ATK Mohun Bagan to build a two-goal cushion
Hyderabad keeps on exploring unchartered territories as they moved one step close to the final with a 3-1 win over ATK Mohun Bagan in the first leg of ‘Semi-Final 2’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season. Bartholomew Ogbeche, Mohammad Yasir and Javi Siverio were on target for the Nizams, whereas the Mariners’ solitary goal was scored by Roy Krishna.
Hyderabad head coach Manolo Marquez made four changes to the team that won 2-1 against Mumbai City. Nikhil Poojary, Khassa Camara, Joel Chianese and Rohit Danu made way for Akash Mishra, Joao Victor, Ogbeche and Aniket Jadhav respectively.
On the other hand, ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando made two changes to his starting XI following a 1-0 defeat against Jamshedpur. Carl McHugh made way for Deepak Tangri, which allowed the Spanish tactician to play an extra overseas attacker in David Williams, dropping Manvir Singh to the bench.
Both teams looked a tad hesitant in the initial phases of the game, given the massive importance of this tie. The first major chance of the match fell to the Mariners in the 14th minute when Williams found Joni Kauko in the box with a defence-splitting through ball. The Finnish midfielder kept his shot on target but Hyderabad custodian Laxmikant Kattimani was up to the task to keep the scoreline at 0-0.
However, Ferrando’s men did not get a chance to rue the miss as the deadlock was broken only four minutes later. After receiving the ball on the left flank, Liston Colaco outfoxed his marker Nim Dorjee Tamang with silky skills before delivering an accurate cross for Krishna, who had the simplest of tasks of tucking the ball into an empty net.
The Nizams upped the ante after conceding and got a couple of freekicks from dangerous positions, but nothing came out of them. It seemed certain that the Mariners will take the lead into half-time until Ogbeche came up at a crucial moment trumps for Hyderabad yet again.
Marquez’s team got a corner just before half-time, which Yasir went up to take. Following a pinball situation inside the box, the ball eventually landed for central defender Juanan who lifted it towards Ogbeche, and being a perfect ‘fox in the box’ striker, the Nigerian goal-machine headed it past Amrinder Singh in the ATK Mohun Bagan goal.
This equalizer acted as a spring in the Nizams’ steps as they scored twice inside the first nineteen minutes of the second half. In the 58th minute, Ogbeche tried playing a ball for Siverio but two green and maroon shirts in Tiri and Sandesh Jhingan rushed to clear it away. However, it proved to be fatal as they both ended up getting injured, whilst the rebound fell to Yasir who brilliantly launched his shot into the bottom corner.
Hyderabad doubled their lead only six minutes later, with Yasir playing the role of a provider this time around. He picked up Siverio inside the box with a perfectly weighted delivery from a corner, and the former Racing Santander striker made no mistake in heading it into the back of the net.
Joni Kauko missed a gilt-edged opportunity for ATK Mohun Bagan
These two goals served as a wake-up call for the Mariners, who then threw the kitchen sink at Hyderabad. Liston pulled the trigger in the 72nd minute but his effort was saved by Kattimani. Three minutes later, Hugo Boumous outsmarted Marquez’s backline with a clever run down the left flank before cutting a pass back for Kauko, but the former Esbjerg player dragged his shot wide.
ATK Mohun Bagan’s last big chance of the match came in the 95th minute when substitute Manvir whipped in a cross from the left flank. In an attempt to clear the ball, Chinglensana Singh deflected the cross towards his own net but the ball stayed out after hitting the cross.
The Mariners will face an uphill battle of overcoming a two-goal deficit when they meet the Nizams again for the second leg clash, which will be played on Wednesday at the Athletic Stadium.