Hosts Bengaluru deny HFC as Subrata keeps another clean sheet

Fatorda, Goa: Hyderabad FC put in another solid display as Bengaluru FC managed to hold on to a 0-0 draw at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Fatorda on Saturday. Both sides battled out hard in the middle of the park with HFC dominating majority of the game but had to settle for a point on the night.

With four points from two games, Manuel Marquez’s men moved up to third in the standings behind leaders ATK Mohun Bagan (6 pts) and NorthEast United (4 pts).

Hyderabad FC started the game on the front foot, dominating possession of the ball and keeping Bengaluru penned back in their half. Aridane did well to drop deep and help link-up play while Joel Chianese put in a solid display in the first few minutes of his Indian Super League debut.

The first chance, and the biggest chance of the night came 25 minutes into the game, when Sastre’s free-kick from the left found Aridane’s head just six yards away from goal. HFC’s no.9 failed to beat Gurpreet, who got down well and pulled out a smart save.

But it all went bad for Marquez’s side, when Joel Chianese was subbed off suffering an ankle strain, 35 minutes into the game. And just at the half-way mark, Lluis Sastre pulled his hamstring and was stretchered off the field as well.

HFC managed to go into the break level and came out well, with Hitesh Sharma and Mohammad Yasir taking up places in the midfield.

Bengaluru changed a few things up but found the HFC’s defensive pairing of Chinglensana and Odei Onaindia too tough to break down. The hosts did try to get behind the backline with balls over the top but good communication from Subrata Paul meant that Bengaluru failed to create good enough chances on the night.

Both teams were restricted to shots from outside the box, with the staunch backlines refusing to give space or time on the ball for attackers.

Hyderabad did push for a winner in the last quarter of the game, and created a few opportunities but failed to find the back of the net to break the deadlock.

Liston Colaco came off the bench but did not have enough time to make an impact. He did win late set-pieces on the left which HFC did not capitalize on. The hosts failed to test Subrata Paul in goal for HFC, registering zero shots on target all night. They were happy to close out the game and took a point home.

HFC are back in action when they face Jamshedpur FC at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Wednesday, the 2^nd of December, for what will be their first home game of the league campaign.