(Football news) Despite losing 1-0 to ATK Mohun Bagan in the second leg of the Indian Super League semi final, Hyderabad FC progressed to the finals with a 3-2 victory on aggregate to set up an epic encounter against Kerala Blasters at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday. A goal by Roy Krishna in the 79th minute wasn’t enough for ATKMB to seal a place in the finals while Bartholomew Ogbeche, Yasir Mohammad and Javier Siverio scored for the Nizams in the first leg.

Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez played the same team that won the first leg 3-1 while Juan Ferrando made a few changes to the starting XI for ATK Mohun Bagan as Tiri was forced to be substituted after picking up an injury in the last game while Kiyan Nassiri got a start. The Hyderabad defenders struggled to cope with Liston Colaco’s brilliance as he took a shot at goal only for it to go wide. Roy Krishna was also set up by Colaco but Yasir Mohammad did well to keep the Fijian at bay.

Colaco continued to threaten the Hyderabad defence and took an attempt on goal but Laxmikant Kattimani pulled off a brilliant save with an outstretched leg. For the Nizams, Aniket Jadhav had a good opportunity to make it 4-1 on aggregate but nodded a free header wide off target from five yards out. Hugo Boumous had the best chance of the half but failed to convert after receiving a cross from Prabir Das. The French-Moroccan dragged his effort wide and just before half-time, Joni Kauko shot wide, basically summing up ATKMB’s missed opportunities. 

The Nizams suffered a blow early in the second half when Sauvik Chakrabarti was forced to be substituted due to an injury and Sahil Tavora replaced the midfielder. ATK Mohun Bagan continued to pile on the pressure as they desperately needed a result while Hyderabad FC defended deep and as a compact unit. Juan Ferrando replaced Sandesh Jhingan for Manvir Singh and there were huge appeals for a penalty when Joni Kauko was brought down by Akash Mishra but replays indicated that the foul was committed outside the box.

As expected, Liston Colaco was at the centre of ATK Mohun Bagan’s goal as the 23 year old burst from the left flank and provided a cross to Roy Krishna who converted from close range. Despite the consolation goal, the Nizams won 3-2 on aggregate to seal a place in the finals against Kerala Blasters at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday, 20th March.

Also read: Rock-solid Kerala Blasters hold Jamshedpur 1-1, enter ISL final