ATK Mohun Bagan ended first ever playoff run of Odisha FC in the 9th Indian Super League (ISL) Football Tournament with a 2-0 win at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata today. Goals from Hugo Boumous and Dimitri Petratos were enough for the Mariners, who will now face defending champions Hyderabad FC in their two-legged semi-final on March 9 and 13.
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.
As both sides pressed further up the field, the deadlock was broken less than ten minutes before the break. Effort of Petratos 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 box in the opening couple of minutes. Jerry Mawihmingthanga came close to pouncing on a Diego Mauricio header across the face of goal, but could not test ATKMB. Instead, the Mariners broke on the counter, with Colaco forcing a finger-tip save out of Amrinder.
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 tally into double digits as he slotted his 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.
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.
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PHOTO: Action from the ISL playoff match between ATK Mohun Bagan and Odisha FC in Kolkata on 4 March 2023.