Odisha FC have one foot in the ISL 2024 final, defeating league winners Mohun Bagan SG 2-1 to make it through. Both teams finished the game with 10 men, after Carlos Delgado and Armando Sadiku were both sent off for a second yellow.
Roy Krishna proved to be the difference maker, scoring against his former side to help them earn a huge win in his penultimate fixture in India. Odisha will face one of FC Goa or Mumbai City FC in the finals if they can hold on to their advantage in the second leg.
Odisha FC seal ISL final spot with hard fought win over Mohun Bagan SG
Odisha FC remains unbeaten at their home Kalinga Stadium in ISL 2023-24. Here are the home stats of OFC in ISL :
— Ali Mehdi (@MehdiTalksBall) April 23, 2024
– Matches : 13
– Won : 10
– Draws : 3
– Scored : 27
– Conceded : 11
Interestingly, Odisha FC won 6 out of 13 matches after conceding first goal. pic.twitter.com/96MlLADhiL
The Kalinga Warriors went down early in the game, as Manvir Singh opened the scoring for the visitors. However, Delgado equalised eight minutes later to open up the game. And near the half hour mark, Krishna scored to give his side the lead.
Deepak Tangri was brought on in the second half to provide Mohun Bagan with more stability, and while they didn’t concede, they weren’t able to beat Amrinder Singh either.
The two teams will meet again, with Delgado and Sadiku both ruled out. While Mohun Bagan have the depth to cope without their striker, Odisha might be left open without their Spanish centre-back.