Mohun Bagan are into the final of the ISL 2023-24 final after a 2-0 win in their semifinal second leg against Odisha FC. The result on Sunday night saw them take the tie on an aggregate of 3-2. Goals from Jason Cummings (22') and Sahal Abdul Samad (93') saw them through in front of a packed Salt Lake stadium (official attendance: 62,007).
Bagan started the match on fire, pressing high and forcing turnovers deep in Odisha territory. They troubled Amrinder Singh early on but not the scorers and slowly Odisha grew into it. While Anirudh Thapa's and Dimi Petratos' running from deep caused Odisha all sorts of bother it was Roy Krishna's belligerence that had Bagan worried all day. The former Bagan talisman had the home team's left flank on toast for the whole of the match... he teed up Diego Mauricio at the near post but the off-colour striker wasn't able to guide his shot on target from close range. On a couple of other attempts, it took last ditch clearances from Bagan's defenders to save Kaith's cleansheet as Krishna dragged balls across the face of goal and forced sliding challenges at the far post. Manvir Singh was instrumental with the challenge of the match, sliding in ahead of Isak Ralte to prevent a sure goal.
The game's opening goal came from Cummings after good work from Liston Colaco and Petratos. Colaco ran at Amey Ranawade before teeing up Petratos who had a rasping shot at goal. Amrinder parried it into the six yard box and Cummings showed off his predatory skills by pouncing on the rebound and smacking it in.
The second half was all Odisha for large swathes, but they couldn't break down a resolute Bagan defence. They remained a threat on the counter, though, with Manvir fluffing a glorious 2-on-1 break by not passing to Cummings (who was free in the middle of the box) and shooting weakly from an angle under pressure from the lone defender in sight. He made amends with that aforementioned sliding challenge ahead of Isak before turning on the style in injury time.
By that period, Bagan had climbed on top thanks to the depth of quality on their bench. Manvir made it certain by ripping past Jerry and Ranawade on the left before fizzing a superb ball into the box..Sahal ghosted in behind hte defence and managed to bundle the ball in, with it ricotcheting in off his head. After the match, Sahal would express his gratitude for being able to play such a big role after an injury-marred season. "Coach told me to play intelligently and to go out there and enjoy," he said. "I kept my patience and worked hard [during the injury layoff]. Now we're in the final... one game to go!"
And that game will be at home. The final, on May 4, will be played at Salt Lake stadium against either one of Mumbai City or FC Goa (City lead 3-2 from the first leg).
You can relive the action between Mohun Bagan and Odisha FC right here on our blog:
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