Mohun Bagan | Mohun Bagan lost to Odisha FC in ISL semi-final first leg dgtl

Bhubaneswar went to League Shield winners Mohun Bagan aiming to win the first leg of the ISL semi-finals. Coach Antonio Lopes wanted Habas to keep the dominance of the green-maroon camp intact in Indian football. But Mohun Bagan lost 1-2 to Odisha FC in the first round semi-final.

Sergio Lobera’s men made full use of the home advantage. Roy Krishna, the Princetons, started aggressively from the start. Taking control of the midfield was the primary goal of the Odisha footballers. Before that, however, Manbir Singh put Mohun Bagan ahead. In the 3rd minute of the match, Manbir scored with his head in the corner coming from the left. After falling behind, Odisha increased the attack. Increases the speed of the game. That’s the benefit. Odisha equalized after 11 minutes. Carlos Delgado, who was standing empty, got the ball in the Mohun Bagan box from Juan’s corner. He did not make a mistake in scoring.

Lobera’s boys gradually took control of the game after it became 1-1. In the 14th minute, Krishna got the ball in the Mohun Bagan box. Vishal Kait made a foul when he jumped and tried to block it. But the referee rejected Odisha’s penalty claim. Because the Fijian striker was caught in the offside net before that. Odisha squandered another easy chance to score after 5 minutes. At this time, Mohun Bagan was under some pressure in front of Odisha’s attacks one after another. The green-maroon footballers were unable to keep possession of the ball in one-on-one situations. The boys of Habas could not keep up with Odisha’s speed. However, the green-maroon footballers did not give up the fight. Despite this, Mohun Bagan created few chances in every attack. Johnny Kouko in the 22nd minute, Dimitri Petratosera in the 24th minute missed the chance to score. Goalkeeper Amarinder Singh prevented the fall of Odisha in the 34th minute by stopping the fast shot of Petratos. Krishna gave Odisha a 2-1 lead in the 39th minute. Mohun Bagan’s defense cannot avoid the responsibility even though the Odisha striker has the credit for this goal. Krishna got the ball in the box forgetting the Mohun Bagan footballers. Goalkeeper Kait also made Krishna’s job easier by leaving the goal in the first half. Neither team could score in the first half.

Odisha became somewhat defensive in the second half. Basically Lobera boys started playing counter-attacking football. Despite creating several chances of goal, neither team was successful. In the 67th minute, Mohan striker Armando Sadiku had to leave the field after seeing a second yellow card and a red card for fouling. Mohun Bagan of 10 people came under more pressure. Again in the 74th minute, Delgado left the field after seeing a second yellow card and a red card when he put the ball in his hand in the box. As a result, both teams became 10 people. Even then, Mohun Bagan could not make a special advantage. Instead, Odisha’s attacking players were keeping Mohan and Rakshan busy. Kait prevented the fall of Mohun Bagan in the 82nd minute. Jerry could not score despite getting the ball from Krishna in a good place in the box. After that, Mohun Bagan counter-attacked and almost equalized. Anirudh Thapa’s shot bounced off the post. Petratosera were desperate to equalize late on. It was not possible as Odisha’s defense was alert. Apart from that, six-seven Odisha footballers came to Boxername to maintain the gap. The green-maroon footballers’ tendency to keep the ball at their feet for long periods of time is also partly responsible.

In the second round of the semi-finals, the two teams will meet again on April 28 at Yuva Bharati. Mohun Bagan will reach the final of ISL if they win that match by 2 goals. Even if they beat Odisha by 1 goal, there will be hope. In that case, the semi-final will be decided by a tiebreaker.