Bartholomew Ogbeche smashed an early goal to put Hyderabad FC in a commanding position as Bengaluru FC's struggle to convert chances continued.
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Hyderabad FC registered their first win against Bengaluru FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) after securing a 1-0 triumph at Athletic Stadium, Bambolim on Wednesday. The game was filled with chances pouring through at either end but only one shot found the back of the net. Bartholomew Ogbeche (7′) smashed an early goal to put Hyderabad FC in the lead as Bengaluru FC’s struggle to convert chances continued. Hyderabad FC mounted early pressure with Ogbeche beating Gurpreet Singh to his right after the ball took a wicked deflection off Bengaluru FC defender in the 7th minute of play. In the first quarter, Bengaluru FC struggled to raise a counter-attack while Hyderbad FC threatened to double their lead.
However soon, the game lost its pace with midfield dominating the play, as both teams started to keep things tight in the middle of the park. In the 31st minute, Ogbeche created another goal-scoring opportunity, this time sending a near-perfect pass towards Javier Siverio, however, Siverio struck it off-target with the ball going well over. At the stroke of the half-time whistle, Bengaluru FC won a corner and Cleiton Silva sent the ball in the box, finding Sunil Chhetri who sent it wide.
A day to remember for @HydFCOfficial! ?#HFCBFC #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/wYY4hUKl2l
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 8, 2021
After losing their last match against Mumbai City, Bengaluru FC were eager to get the win this time around. At the start of the second half, Bengaluru FC showed their intentions to play on the front foot, with Cleiton breaching the Hyderabad defence. He pulled the trigger to send the ball towards the target but Laxmikant Kattimani did well to avert the threat. In the 56th minute, Bruno Silva and Jayesh Rane combined to lead the barrage before Rane squaring it off for Cleiton. However, the lack of power in the shot made for an easy save for the Hyderabad keeper.
With Bengaluru FC pushing for the equaliser, Hyderabad FC held their fort till the end to keep their first clean sheet of the season. Hyderabad FC will now face NorthEast United FC on 13th December at Athletic Stadium while Bengaluru FC will take on FC Goa on 11th December at the same venue.
Hyderabad FC midfielder Chinglensana Singh has opened up about their strategy which helped them register a 1-0 win over Bengaluru FC. “It was a very open game, I think we started well in the first half. We created good chances, but we converted only one and we managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half. Our idea in the second half was to continue doing the same, to be compact and stay as a team and see for the chances upfront,” said Chinglensana, during the post-match interview.
After coming close to scoring a few times for the Blues, Cleiton Silva believed that they were unfortunate not to convert their chances in the second half. “Yes, of course (the team was missing) Price (Ibara), he is a quality player, Sunil (Chhetri) as well. When you have players around you with this quality, of course, you have to improve yourself. We were good in the second half. I think what we missed was a little bit more of fighting in the first half. In the second half, we did a good job, we created chances, but unfortunately did not work for us,” said Silva.
Hyderabad FC’s Souvik Chakrabarti was the Hero of the Match for producing a solid display in the midfield. “The credit goes to all the players, it was a team effort. Each of them played well, even the substitutes. We are progressing as a team at this stage, the next game is four-five days away, we will get rest for a couple of days. The three points will work as a boost going forward and also give us more energy to perform better in the next game,” stated the Indian footballer.
