ISL 2022-23: ATK Mohun Bagan-Hyderabad FC start afresh in the latest roadblock to the Final
ISL 2022-23: The final spot for the Final is up for grab, while ATK Mohun Bagan and Hyderabad FC will battle it out for the place in the second leg in Kolkata after it ended goalless in the opening leg in Hyderabad.
FollowA place in the Final of the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season hangs in the balance as ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) hosts defending champion Hyderabad FC (HFC) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata in the second leg of the semi-final on Monday. It will be everything to play for in the second leg as the opening leg meeting between the two defensively alacritous teams ended goallessly.
The Mariners have kept a clean sheet in their last three fixtures and possess the joint-best home record for the season after besting eight out of 11 encounters. Attacks from the front three of Liston Colaco, Dimitri Petratos, and Manvir Singh were negated by the stubborn HFC defence in the opening leg.
Vishal Kaith kept his 11th clean sheet of the season and delivered a marvellous save in Hyderabad, prohibiting the hosts from an advantage for the second leg. The defensive duo of Slavko Damjanovic and Pritam Kotal was tangible at the back.
“Our mentality for this game is to play like it is a final and play to win because we want to reach the playoff final. In the first leg, Hyderabad had more rest than us, but now, we will be in the same situation. The tactical and technical details will be important, but most of all, controlling the game will be a vital part of the match”, said Ferrando.
While the Mariners have a stellar record at home, HFC has the second-best away form this season. The defending champion has yielded just a couple out of ten matches on the road and has kept clean sheets in three out of their last four contests in the ISL.
Joel Chianese created a couple of opportunities and had a crack at goal two times but could not find the back of the net. HFC looked threatening down the right, as Nikhil Poojary aligned well with Mohammad Yasir in the attack while being concrete at the back. Yasir cut infield several times to have a go at goal and crashed the post with one of his measures.
Gurmeet Singh begot seven saves in the opening leg and gained his sixth clean sheet of the season. The defensive duo of Sahil Tavora and Borja Herrera was hardy in midfield, with both players recovering several balls with intense tackles. Bartholomew Ogbeche could return to the starting lineup in the second leg after Javier Siverio had a quiet game in Hyderabad.
“The mood in the camp is good. They have a solid squad, and we managed to control their players well. Tactically, we were perfect in the first leg. They are more comfortable at home, but we are an excellent team whether we play home or away because we don’t make many changes,” said Marquez.
It will be the fourth meeting between the two this season. Both have won a fixture; the only draw between them came in the opening leg on Thursday. In the semi-final last season, HFC advanced to the Final with a 3-2 aggregate win over the Mariners, although ATKMB had won the second leg at home.
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