Hyderabad FC reached the semifinals for the first time with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Kerala Blasters FC in a tense Indian Super League encounter at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Wednesday.
Bartholomew Ogbeche got Hyderabad in front in the 28th minute with Javier Siverio doubling the margin in the 87th minute to make it 35 points from 18 games and stay firmly in pole position.
Kerala fought hard with Alvaro Vazquez at the heart of their second-half stellar show but in the end, Hyderabad held firm with the defence and Laxmikant Kattimani doing the job for Manolo Marquez’s side.
Vincy Barretto scored a consolation goal for Kerala in stoppage time but it was too little too by then.
The result means Kerala stay in fifth place with 27 points from 17 outings, Mumbai only a point above them at fourth after their 1-0 win over SC East Bengal on Tuesday.
ISL 2021-22 Points Table (updated as of Feb 23)
| Pos | Club | M | W | D | L | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyderabad FC (Q) | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 35 |
| 2 | Jamshedpur FC | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 31 |
| 3 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 30 |
| 4 | Mumbai City FC | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 28 |
| 5 | Kerala Blasters FC | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 27 |
| 6 | Bengaluru FC | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 26 |
| 7 | Odisha FC | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | -8 | 22 |
| 8 | Chennaiyin FC | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | -14 | 20 |
| 9 | FC Goa | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | -4 | 18 |
| 10 | NorthEast United FC | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -17 | 13 |
| 11 | SC East Bengal | 18 | 1 | 7 | 10 | -17 | 10 |
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