Hernandez's late winner sees Jamshedpur FC claim first-leg advantage vs MBSG

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) [India], April 3 (ANI): Jamshedpur FC defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant by 2-1 in the first leg of their semi-final fixture at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 on Thursday. The Khalid Jamil-coached side held merely 26.9% of the possession against the League Shield Winners in this match. However, they were efficient in converting their opportunities, scoring twice from the four shots they took on target with the winner coming in from Javi Hernandez in injury time.
An eventful start to the first half saw Jamshedpur FC garner the advantage in the contest riding on the aerial prowess of Javi Siverio and Stephen Eze. The towering defender's awareness inside the 18-yard box saw him deliver a headed pass to Siverio, stationed at extremely close range in the 24th minute. The Spaniard had to simply nod the ball into the bottom right corner as the MBSG defence was unable to thwart the link-up play, thus conceding a vital lead to the Men of Steel, according to the ISL website.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant sparked their intent almost immediately though, moving cohesively in tandem to ask questions to the Jamshedpur FC backline. Greg Stewart's clinical eye for a pass met Alberto Rodriguez inside the penalty area, and though the defender did well to meet the delivery, he could only rattle the crossbar with his eventual effort.
MBSG had their decisive moment in front of the goal in the 37th minute, courtesy of an impeccable free kick from Jason Cummings. The striker has donned a host of roles in the current campaign, often coming off the bench to capitalise upon the tired legs of the opposition and bag late goals. Tonight was a tad different though, as he stepped up on set-piece duties and buried the opportunity with tremendous precision into the top right corner with his left foot to equalise the scores.
The visitors began the second half with similar momentum, as Anirudh Thapa served Stewart a well-weighted ball in the left side of the box, which the former Jamshedpur FC star could not dispatch into the back of the net due to a weakened final effort in the 51st minute.
Just before the hour mark, they aimed to maximise Rodriguez's aerial abilities with Liston Colaco delivering a lethal lateral ball that the defender got to the end of but eventually misdirected to the left side of the goal. In the 71st minute, Colaco trusted Asish Rai to hammer a shot in from distance, but the latter's right footed effort from the right side of the field did not find itself heading on target.
Though Jamshedpur FC spent a significant chunk of the second essay absorbing pressure, they did find 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 Javi Hernandez 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.
Javi Hernandez completed 14 out of his 24 attempted passes, making one cross, two interceptions, and netting the winner too.
The two sides will next play in the second leg of their semi-final fixture in Kolkata on April 7. (ANI)