The opening day of the playoffs surely didn’t disappoint with some thumping results taking away the spotlight. From a thrilling tie to open the day to Vanshaj getting blown away to NorthEast getting a cleansweep in the 1st leg, it had it all.
Hyderabad FC vs Bengaluru FC: The Blues clinch their semifinal spot in a thriller!
The opening game of the playoffs saw both teams come to the fore but only one team had to be the winner and rightly so, the Bengaluru boys, CJ and Sagnik came out victorious. With CJ and Jenasid opening the day, the latter took the win, courtesy of a thrilling comeback and giving Hyderabad the advantage in the tie. The second game belonged to the Bengaluru boys, as they blew away Jenasid & Warsi in the co-op. In the final game, despite Warsi taking the league, Sagnik bounced back in style with a winner in the dying seconds to etch Bengaluru’s name in the semifinals and set up the clash against FC Goa.
Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Blasters seal the deal with a top performance!
Who would’ve thought that the Blasters would blow away one of the most attacking duos. Krusher and Lokmanyu locked horns in the opening game of the tie, with the latter edging to take the win with only a singular goal scored. The Mumbai boys bounced back, like they always did in the next one, taking the game comfortably by scoring three and conceding just one. The final game saw the score lines reverse and head in favor of the Kerala boys, with Shubum breezing past Sakky, despite Sakky coming back to level the game initially. The Blasters took the tie by winning 2 games to book their semifinal berth and go up against NorthEast United for the final spot. There was drama right at the end, off the field as well, with Sakky refusing to shake hands with Shubum.
Bengaluru FC vs FC Goa Semifinal 1, Leg 1: Turntables for FC Goa but it’s still not done yet!
The first two games of this tie saw things that had never happened through the 10 league stage games before this. To open things off and take away the breath of everyone, CJ absolutely dominated and thumped 5 past Vanshaj to write his name all over the first one and leave everyone in awe. The second game once again saw their domination extend as CJ and Sagnik combined to put 2 past Vanshaj and Aadizema and extend their lead to 2 on the night and the first leg. Aadizema came back strongly in the final game, going up against Sagnik and winning the final game 2-1 and setting up an all exciting second leg of the semifinals. With two games in favor of Bengaluru and one in favor of Goa, the tie is not done just yet as both teams have the potential to battle it out right until the end, even in the toughest of corcumstances. Who makes the final? Let’s wait and watch.
Kerala Blasters FC vs NorthEast United FC: Absolute domination from the Highlanders!
Domination peaked in this tie that had drama written all over it. The Highlanders thumped the Blasters, winning all three games in the first leg and leaving it to just formalities in the second leg tomorrow. Lokmanyu drew first leg for Kerala in the first game of the first lef, but Emaad put in the hard yards and came back strongly to score two and get the first game in the Highlanders’ favor. The co-op game was a battle of wit as the two teams had chances left, right and center but one team had to get on top and that was NorthEast United yet again as they sealed their second straight win in the tie to get the advantage. The final game of the day had Shubum and Saransh battle it out but once again, a similar result to the opening two games followed, but this time in a much thrilling encounter. First the Highlanders drew first blood and then the bLasters came back to make it 1-1. The game only went uphill from this point onwards for Saransh as he managed to bang 3 more past Shubum’s defense to make it 4-1 on the night. With a fourth of the game to go, Shubum tried to get back in the game, scoring two but it wasn’t enough as he fell short by a goal as well to hand a clean sweep in the first leg to the Highlanders. With a 3-0 advantage in hand, one more win tomorrow in the tie will seal Emaad and Saransh’s spot in the final game for the ultimate prize.
With terrific action happening all over on the first day of the playoffs, two more semi final second legs and the ultimate game are scheduled to be played today. Which teams are going to face off for the trophy and who’s going to land it today is something that has all of us on the edge of our seats. Until then, catch all the blazing action on our official YT channel.
