Team Jamshedpur FC in action© X (Twitter)
Javi Hernandez produced an injury-time winner as Jamshedpur FC defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant 2-1 in the first leg of their semi-final fixture of the Indian Super League on Thursday. The Khalid Jamil-coached side held merely 26.9% of the possession against the League Shield Winners in this match at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. However, they were efficient in converting their opportunities, scoring twice from the four shots they took on target with the winner coming in from Hernandez in injury time.
It was Javi Siverio (24th) who gave the edge to Jamshedpur but Jason Cummings (37th) produced the equaliser before Hernández (90 1′) took the hosts home.
The two sides will next play in the second leg of their semi-final fixture in Kolkata on April 7.
Jamshedpur garnered the advantage riding on the aerial prowess of Javi Siverio and Stephen Eze. The towering defender delivered a headed pass to Siverio, stationed at extremely close range in the 24th minute.
The Spaniard simply nod the ball into the bottom right corner as Mohun Bagan conceded a vital lead to the Red Miners.
The visitors equalised in the 37th minute, courtesy an impeccable free kick from Cummings, who stepped up on set-piece duties and buried the opportunity with tremendous precision into the top right corner with his left foot.
The visitors dominated the second half but missed a few opportunities as Jamshedpur finally found the second goal in their trademark style after a fast break in the added time.
The Red Miners carved open the MBSG structure with a string of passes that was executed flawlessly. The sequence capped off with Ritwik Das finding Hernández in a pocket of space in the centre of the box that the Spaniard shot high into the centre of the net to grab his side an important advantage going into the next match.
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