IMAGE: ATKMB’s Hugo Boumous scored the opener against OFC. Photograph: ISL Media
ATK Mohun Bagan ended Odisha FC’s first ever playoff run in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Saturday with a 2-0 win.
Goals from Hugo Boumous and Dimitri Petratos were enough to secure semi-final qualification for the Mariners, who will now face defending champions Hyderabad FC next.
In the opening ten minutes, Odisha FC dominated possession but were unable to test Vishal Kaith in goal. The hosts were dealt an early blow when Ashique Kuruniyan had to go off in the 11th minute following a duel with Raynier Fernandes near the halfway line, with Liston Colaco replacing him.
Saul Crespo was solid in midfield in the first quarter of the game, but the midfielder brought Colaco down on the left flank in the 15th minute. From the set piece, Petratos curled a potent ball into the box, which was glanced on by Carl McHugh and palmed behind for a corner by Amrinder Singh at full stretch.
IMAGE: ATKMB downed Odisha FC to enter the semifinals. Photograph: ISL Media
As both sides pressed further up the field, the deadlock was broken less than ten minutes before the break. Petratos’ effort from range was palmed over the bar for a corner that was taken quickly by the striker. Manvir Singh arrived at the near post just in time to flick it across an open goal before Boumous drove it in at the far post.
In the second half, Odisha FC hovered around the ATKMB’s box in the opening couple of minutes. Jerry Mawihmingthanga came close to pouncing on Diego Mauricio’s header across the face of goal, but couldn’t test ATKMB.
Instead, the Mariners broke on the counter, with Colaco forcing a finger-tip save out of Amrinder.
IMAGE: ATKMB will meet HFC in the ISL semifinals. Photograph: ISL Media
Approaching the hour-mark, McHugh recovered the ball in midfield and exchanged a pass with Boumous before rolling it through to Petratos near the edge of the box. The striker moved his season’s tally into double digits as he slotted his side’s second goal past Amrinder.
Just after the hour-mark, there was a collision between Kaith and Mauricio, which eventually led to the former being unable to continue as Arsh Shaikh came on to guard the goal. Seeing a new keeper in the ATKMB goal, Pedro Martin was put in to increase his side’s potency in the final ten minutes of the game.
However, it was the hosts who spent most of the time in the opposition half, not allowing Odisha FC to launch any promising attacks until the full-time whistle as the Juggernauts finished with just a solitary effort on target.
IMAGE: ATKMB and OFC players in action in Kolkata. Photograph: ISL Media
As the final whistle was blown, Odisha FC’s stint in the playoffs was brought to an end, while ATKMB progressed to the next stage to face Hyderabad FC in a two-legged semi-final on March 9 and 13.
Key Stats:
– McHugh attempted 6 tackles, made 5 interceptions and 3 blocks
– Nandha Kumar Sekar attempted 3 shots and had a passing accuracy of 90%
– Petratos attempted the most shots (5) in the match
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