ISL 2022-23 Semifinal: Defending champion Hyderabad FC hosts ATK Mohun Bagan in first leg

Hyderabad FC can look to the fact that it had beaten ATK Mohun Bagan in both the league games to enter the field with a lot of confidence.

Defending champions Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez (right) watching his players train ahead of the first-leg semifinal against ATK Mohun Bagan.

Hyderabad FC’s quest to win the championship for the second time enters the decisive phase when it takes on the in-form ATK Mohun Bagan in the first-leg semifinal of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the GMC Balayogi Stadium on Thursday night.

HFC, the defending champion, finished second in the points table to make it to the last four stage for the second consecutive season while Juan Ferrando’s in-form ATKMB finished third, eight points behind Hyderabad in the league table, but importantly, won the last three games.

The likes of Dimitri Petratos, Hugo Boumous, Manvir Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan and Liston Colaco have been brilliant on their day and will be the danger men for the home team.

Vishal Kaith has 10 clean sheets to his name and has been ably supported by a steady backline that Hyderabad will look to break this Thursday.

“This will be yet another close game. ATK Mohun Bagan are one of the strongest sides in the competition. We were clinical in the playoffs last season and were able to beat a side that were really good in both legs” HFC head coach Manolo Marquez said in the pre-match briefing.

“Now, they have a good momentum, better than when they came here in the league stage a month ago. They also have a few players coming back from injury and have a really strong squad. But, we have a really good team too and we will be hard to beat if we put in a strong performance,” Marquez said.

Interestingly, HFC will be in action after almost two weeks and the focus inevitably shifts to the likes of Bartholomew Ogbeche, the top goalscorer for the club, along with Javi Siverio, Joel Chianese, Borja Herrera, Mohammad Yasir and Halicharan Narzary who have all been superb upfront this season.

Clearly, defence, so effectively manned by the spirited Gurmeet Singh under the bar, has been HFC’s strength in its campaign. Not surprisingly, Marquez revealed that his side is relishing this chance to defend the trophy.

“Every team that has reached this stage will want to go to the final. The expectations are high, and any team can go and win the final as well,” HFC head coach said.

“But our team has a group of players that everyone will remember for years to come. It will be a difficult game for us, but it will be a difficult game for them as well,” he said.

HFC can look to the fact that it had beaten ATKMB in both the league games to enter the field with a lot of confidence.

Match starts at 7.30 pm.