Hyderabad FC scripted a historic comeback as they defeat ATK Mohun Bagan 3-1 in the first leg of the Indian Super League semifinals. The Mariners took the lead through Roy Krishna only to lose it in the second half.
Bartholomew Ogbeche handed the Nizams a very valuable goal right at the stroke of halftime. It was a very uneventful first half for Hyderabad FC but that equalizer changed everything for Manolo Marquez’s team heading into the dressing room. It spurred them on in the second half as they came back scoring two more goals via Mohammed Yasir and Javier Siverio.
Ogbeche who is currently leading the goal scoring charts was not happy with the performance of his team. He revealed how Marquez was not happy with the space allowed on the pitch by his players. So he calls for an improvement from his men in the second leg.
“The coach was mad during half-time because we didn’t play according to the plan. I think we respected them a little bit too much. We gave them too much space, too much freedom, It shouldn’t be like that,” Ogbeche said in the post-match interview.
The Nigerian striker felt that they were lucky to get away with a goal in the first half. It gave them the spring in the step to score more goals in the second half.
“I have to say luckily we got that goal just before half-time. After that we came out in the second half and we had to take the game to them and we did that very well. We were able to score two goals. We should have scored more but we are happy with the lead,” he added.
Ogbeche who has been sensational this season wants his team to be wary of the threat of ATK Mohun Bagan and come back with an even better performance in the second leg.
“I think we have to constantly seek improvement. We can’t be complacent and ultimately we have to be consistent. We can’t play like we did in the first half. If we do that then we can just go home. That’s not the way to play against a team like this,” he said.
ATK Mohun Bagan have a mountain to climb in the second leg of the semifinals. The Green and Maroons will need to win by a two goal margin to force extra time and win by outright three goals to qualify for the finals.
