The first of the season 11 semi finals of Indian Super League has broken the path of league leaders Mohun Bagan SG and FC Goa for an easy get away to the finals. They will now be walking the path of boiling water with a necessity to come back from deficit in the second leg. Despite losing out in the first leg, both the losing teams now have an extra advantage of playing at their home, in their soil and face of the in the ultimate clash.
Bengaluru defeated Mumbai City on their playoff qualifiers and Jamshedpur knocked out the mentality monsters NorthEast United FC, earning themselves a place in the semi finals of this season’s ISL. They have now replicated the same aura and fierce battling mentality at their home, and reassuring the stronghold of their arena once again.
Let’s now have a look at how each one of game fared.
Sree Kanteerava turns blue once again
Gerard Zaragoza’s Bengaluru has litten up the night sky with blue as Sree Kanteerava and West Block Blues joyous as they defeated the mighty Manolo Marquez led FC Goa. It was Goa who controlled all the possession, but the blues were sharp in their attacks and defensively solid to keep Goa away from getting that three points.
Both teams had good chances at their disposal to make the cut, but it was Bengaluru who got the opening as Jinghan whose wrong body shape caused him to net one in his own as an own goal from a cross delivered in by Edgar Mendez. Borja tried to thread some balls into BFC box, but all went in vain. It was Jhingan who accidentally gave the blues a lead before the half time through a misjudged ball delivered in by Mendez making the scoreline 1-0.
It was all the same in second half also as FC Goa got all the time and space but, Bengaluru defense stood strong as a unit to keep the opponents at bay. The second goal of the game came in through Bhutia who sliced in a beautiful cut back to Mendez who finished of that in style giving two goal advantage for the blues. The attacking threats of Ryan Williams, Mendez and Noguera was too strong for FC Goa and they indeed made some bad decisions causing all the casualties.
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Furnace lits up as Khalid’s men makes the cut
The army of troop led by an Indian tactician, Khalid Jamil has proven to be a force to reckon with as they defeated the ISL shield winners, Mohun Bagan SG keeping the table turned on their side for now. Mohun Bagan, who was named as one of the unbeatable teams in the league and one who registered 15 clean sheet in the tournament has put their foot wrong in the wrong time of the season. It was a replica of the other semi finals as it was the away team who controlled all the possession and shots, but the attacking prowess was nullified and half cooked.
It was the Mariners who got early chances in the game, but Jamil led team managed to keep the threat of MBSG attacks on hold as a unit. Stephen Eze was one man who was present everywhere in all zones of the field as he managed to get an assist to Siverio who opened the scoring for Jamshedpur in the game. Mohun Bagan defense stood still in most of the JFC attacks getting their feet cold and losing game’s momentum. Jason Cummings made the game level through an exceptional direct free kick before the half time.
Nothing changed in the second half except for some neutralised chances at both ends all through. Javi Hernandez, for MBSG player, now risen up against them as he scored the winner for the Men of Steel during the added time of second half. It was Ritwik Das who sliced in an elegant ball into the box where Javi showed his quality. The game ended as the Red Miners took the first step waiting for a grandeous second leg at the Salt Lake
The second leg of the game between FC Goa and Bengaluru FC will be played at the Fatorda stadium on April 6 whereas the Mohun Bagan will now host Jamshedpur at The Salt Lake Stadium on April 7. Both the games stands aside for a grandstand finish as the away fans expecting their teams to make a disappointment while the home team will be rallying their troops to take the revenge.
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