JFC set up summit clash with Goa

Bhubaneswar: A second for Manolo Marquez and a hat-trick for Khalid Jamil — that's how the semifinal stories at Kalinga Super Cup unfolded at Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday.

Jamil and his Jamshedpur FC did a triple on Mumbai City FC this season by beating them 1-0 with a Rei Tachikawa late winner to set up a summit clash with FC Goa, who made up for the disappointment of ISL playoffs with their second win of the season against Mohun Bagan Super Giant, having beaten them once in ISL at home.

Goa can now fight for a parting trophy for Manolo Marquez as well as an AFC CL 2 spot without depending on Mohun Bagan for the latter as their mostly Indian and youngster-led rivals succumbed to a 1-3 defeat in the first semifinal of the day.

After skipper Lallianzuala Chhangte failed to find a teammate to convert a couple of his daring and pacey moves, Jamshedpur could have broken the deadlock in the 27th minute when Stephen Eze headed in a Jordan Murray long free-kick. However, he was declared offside and then Murray had his shot from near-mouth saved by Rehenesh TP four minutes later.

After a scrappy first half, both teams came back for the second with more grit and control over the ball.

And it was Khalid's men who came closer to scoring twice with the woodwork coming in the way on both occasions. First, it was Eze's shot hitting the left upright after a Mohammed Sanan run and cross in the 60th minute. It was followed by Pronay Halder getting adventurous with a long shot that hit the crossbar two minutes later.

However, with the semifinal inching for a shoot-out, a Mumbai City clearance to another pacey Sanan run fell on the feet of Tachikawa, whose powerful shot beat a diving Rehenesh for the 87th-minute winner.

Earlier, Goa got the breakthrough in the 20th minute as Borja Herrera received the ball after taking a short corner himself and angled it into the box with a spinning shot that deceived the Mohun Bagan defenders and looked to have got a touch from Brison Fernandes before swerving in.

While replays showed the ball might have grazed the shoulders of Abhishek Suryavanshi, the goal stayed in the name of ISL's Emerging Player of the Season.

Bastab Roy's second-string team were quick to get into the game through a brilliant run from Ashique Kuruniyan down the left flank just three minutes later. It was 20-year-old Suhail Bhat who made a perfect run between the Goa defenders to reach Kuruniyan's cross, guide it in and level the proceedings.

The score stayed even at the change of ends despite Iker Guarrotxena hitting the woodwork in the 43rd minute.

But it took Marquez's men 15 minutes in the second half to seal the game and a ticket for the summit clash. First, it was a dire mistake from goalkeeper Dheeraj Moirangthem in fouling an onrushing Dejan Drazic inside the box that saw Guarrotxena send the Bagan custodian the wrong way with his powerful spot kick in the 51st minute.

Later it was Player-of-the-Match Herrera who humiliated the young India and Bagan goalkeeper — once again from a corner — with the first ‘Olympic goal' of the entire domestic season.

While the ISL Shield and Cup winners — with their homegrown youngsters — tried to get back into the game, it was a tale of so close yet so far as Bhat converted a move in the 83rd minute only to be adjudged offside.