India's Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale displayed tremendous form and stormed into the semi-finals of the ITF Women's Open at the KSLTA Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Raina, the fourth seed in the tournament, fought past Dea Herdzelas of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-1, 6-7 (7), 7-5 while Bhosal
The hosts were dominant in the first half but were tested defensively by the Mariners in the second. In the end, neither side could find a goal to nick the advantage ahead of the second leg in Kolkata on Monday.
The rivalry between the two sides has been intense this season, with both sides winning their respective home games by a 1-0 margin. So, it goes without saying that the semi-final across two legs will lead to another high-intensity affair between two of the best teams in Indian Football.
ATK Mohun Bagan finished the league stage in third position with 34 points, including 10 wins. A win against Odisha FC in a knockout game assured the Marines the third consecutive semi-final appearance in ISL history.
Marquez's side made it to the semi-final with a second-place finish in the ISL points table with 42 points from 20 games, which is their highest point tally in the history of the league.
With this win, Grayson and his Bengaluru FC side continue their red-hot form in 2023 as they extend their winning streak to 10 games. Whereas, League Shield winners Mumbai City FC are yet to win a match after their 5-2 win over FC Goa, where they secured the shield. Sunil Chhetri scored the
Sunil Chhetri came on as a substitute and found the back of the net in the 78th minute to give the Blues a vital advantage ahead of the second leg in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Bengaluru FC defeated Kerala Blasters 1-0 in extra time in the first knockout fixture to make it into the semi-finals. Interestingly, it was the Blues who inflicted the first defeat of the season on Mumbai City FC subsequent to their Shield triumph after going 18 games unbeaten.
The momentum is certainly with the Blues as they head into the semi-final on the back of a nine-game winning streak, but face a tough challenge against the League Shield Winners in their upcoming tie.
Looking ahead to the semifinals, head coach Des Buckingham spoke about how the squad is gearing up for a knockout clash after they finished top of the table at the end of the ISL League Stage.
The game started with a good pace as both teams tried to outplay each other in the early minutes. The visitors had a few chances to take the lead but a moment of brilliance from Dimitri Petratos in either half gave the home side the semi-final spot. A quick corner taken by Petratos was slott
Goals from Hugo Boumous and Dimitri Petratos in each half helped ATK Mohun Bagan secure a solid win and set up a semi-final clash with Hyderabad FC. The Mariners have now made it to the ISL semi-finals for a third season running.