Bartholomew Ogbeche’s leveller in the first-half and a goal each from Mohammad Yasir and Javier Siviero helped Hyderabad FC come back from behind to beat ATK Mohun Bagan FC 3-1 in the first leg of the semifinals between the sides at GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim on Saturday. (More Football News)
The result also saw the Telugoons registering their first-ever win over the Mariners.
The match on Saturday started with both the sides fighting tooth and nail. However, they were ATK Mohun Bagan who scored the first goal of game in the 18th minute, courtesy Roy Krishna. Liston Colaco dribbled the ball beautifully on the left flank before providing the ball inside the box to Krishna who netted it with ease.
ATK Mohun Bagan maintained good dominance after scoring the first goal. Their defence was extremely tight in the first half. However, Hyderabad FC still managed to score the leveller just before the halftime whistle.
Ogbeche found the back of the net in the 45+3rd minute. With it, the Nigerian equaled the record for the most goals in a single ISL season.
In the second half, Hyderabad simply emerged as the better team as they scored two goals in the space of six minutes to script a comeback after an underwhelming first 45 minutes. It was a double blow for the Mariners as not only Yasir Mohammad scored a goal in the 58th minute after Sandesh Jhingan and Tiri collided in an attempt to clear the ball near the box with Yasir smashing home from outside the box, but Tiri had to be stretchered off. Minutes later, Javier Siviero headed in from a corner to make it 3-1.
The two teams face each other next in the second leg of the semifinals on Wednesday.
