AFC Cup 2023-24: Odisha FC advance with 1-0 win over Bashundhara Kings
Odisha FC rode on Mourtada Fall’s second-half strike to qualify for the inter-zone play-off semi-finals to be held in March.
Football
Indian football club Odisha FC qualified for the AFC Cup 2023-24 inter-zone play-off semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Bashundhara Kings in their Group D match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
Mourtada Fall’s header in the 61st minute separated the two sides at the full-time. The victory helped the Indian Super League side, who lost the opening two games of the competition, win the group with 12 points from six matches. Only the top team from Group D qualified for the next round as per the format.
For the Bashundhara Kings, even a draw would have been enough to sail into the next round. However, the Bangladeshi football club’s campaign ended at 10 points from six matches.
Odisha FC dominated the first half of the game. The likes of Diego Mauricio, Roy Krishna, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Cy Goddard and Ahmed Jahouh combined well to stitch several set pieces but the hosts squandered their opportunities and failed to score.
Bashundhara Kings also found their rhythm 15 minutes into the first half. They defended in numbers but a red card to Asror Gafurov in the second minute of the stoppage time changed the dynamics of the game. The expulsion, resulting from a forceful challenge on Jahouh, handed Odisha FC the opportunity to pursue an aggressive strategy in the second half.
Odisha FC, who had no shots on target to show in the first half, put Bashundhara Kings’ goal-keeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon under the pump in the second half. The consistent attacking play paid off when Ahmed Jahouh’s precise delivery from the corner met Fall’s header in the 61st minute to make it 1-0.
Despite being down to 10 men, Bashundhara Kings looked threatening on each attack. However, Amrinder Singh proved tough to crack in the goal and Odisha FC progressed to the knockouts on their debut AFC Cup campaign with a clean sheet.
The AFC Cup is the second-tier Asian continental club football competition after the AFC Champions League. Each team in Group D played the other three teams in a home-and-away round-robin format.
Odisha FC suffered two back-to-back defeats to begin their campaign but won the remaining four matches to find themselves in the Inter-zone play-off semi-final. Earlier in the day, Mohun Bagan bowed out after losing to Maziya FC 1-0.