Molina sets sights on ISL Cup after Mohun Bagan Super Giant's semi-final win

Having lost the first leg by 2-1, the Mariners came out with intent, relentlessly pressing Jamshedpur FC from the opening whistle. Despite facing a well-organised defensive line, the home side displayed sharp attacking intent and kept pushing for a breakthrough.

The breakthrough finally came early in the second half when MBSG were awarded a penalty, which Jason Cummings calmly converted, levelling the aggregate score at 2-2.

Jamshedpur FC responded with a series of offensive attempts, but MBSG continued to dominate proceedings. As the game approached its climax and tension mounted, it was in injury time that the Mariners found their moment of brilliance--midfielder Apuia scoring a stunning individual goal to seal the match and book their place in the ISL Cup final for the third straight time.

Jose Molina expressed his immense pride in the team's performance, stating that despite the difficulty and Jamshedpur FC's strong defensive setup, they fully deserved the victory.

"To be honest, I think it has been really difficult. I think it was really good because they (Jamshedpur FC) did a great job. In their style, the defense was really good, and they put us under pressure to try to win. But in my opinion, we deserved that victory. Of course, the last goal, the last moment with Apuia's shot and score, was amazing. It was a brilliant moment for us," he said during the post-match press conference, as quoted from the official website of ISL.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant registered a record-breaking 71 penalty area entries--the highest ever in a single Indian Super League match. Backed by unwavering belief in their strategy, the Mariners kept knocking on the door and, true to form, found the winner in stoppage time.

He elaborated, "We fought a lot during 90 minutes to achieve that goal. Finally, Apuia was the lucky man to score. He deserved it. He did a great job and a good shot, of course. I'm really happy right now with the team, with the performance of the team, with the way the players fought until the end. They believed in me with calm, and stuck to the plan until the last moment. They didn't get frustrated until the end. Finally, we received, in my opinion, what we deserved."

Molina's side attempted 35 shots in this game, the joint-highest by any team in a single Indian Super League match (alongside NorthEast United FC vs Delhi Dynamos FC on 24 November 2014) and the outright highest in ISL Playoffs history.

They had to do it the hard way, but the effort will be cherished as it led them to yet another ISL final.

"The plan today was to keep the position, move the ball, don't be desperate, be patient, keep going and pay attention because when we use the ball, they are going to run on a counterattack. The plan was really good. It worked really well. We had a lot of chances to score. I was watching the statistics, 32-33, or more attempts on goal. It's a lot for 90 minutes. But they (Jamshedpur FC) did a good job in defence. But we kept going. In my opinion, it was a well-deserved victory," Molina said.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant will now square off against Bengaluru FC in the ISL Cup final on Saturday at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, in what will be a repeat of the 2022-23 ISL Cup final. They now stand a chance to become only the second ISL side after Mumbai City FC to complete the double.

Molina remarked, "I think in the finals, nobody is a favourite. Anything can happen. Of course, we believe in ourselves. We trust in ourselves and in what we are doing. We think that if we are at our best, we are going to get the trophy. But we have to work hard. Right now, we have to recover."

"We respect them (Bengaluru FC) a lot. They did a great job during the season. They are a really good team. It's not going to be easy, but I always say the same: I believe in my players, I trust in my players, in the work they are doing, in the work that we are doing all together. Hopefully, we are going to have a good night and win another trophy," he added.