Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC players had their fingers crossed as they prayed for a favourable result at Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Bengaluru FC, the home team, delivered it on Thursday evening, beating FC Goa 3-1 – which ensured a playoff berth for Odisha FC in ISL-9.
Needing a draw to seal a top-6 finish in their last league game at Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday, Odisha FC disappointed their home fans as they went down 0-2 to Jamshedpur FC.
That meant fate was no longer in their hands, as FC Goa (27 points) would have gone through if they beat Bengaluru, as they had a better head-to-head record over Odisha.
Fortunately for Odisha FC, that didn’t happen. FC Goa were in with a chance at half-time as the scores were tied 1-1.
But two goals in the final 15 minutes won the game for Bengaluru, who had already qualified for the playoffs.
Sixth-placed Odisha FC will face the third-placed team in Knockout 2, while the No. 4 will face No. 5 in Knockout 1.
The winners of those two games will advance to the semifinals, against the top 2 – Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC.
THE PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS
* Mumbai City FC (46 pts from 20 games)
* Hyderabad FC (39 from 19)
* Bengaluru FC (34 from 20)
* ATK Mohun Bagan (31 from 19)
* Kerala Blasters (31 from 19)
* Odisha FC (30 from 20).
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