Indian Super League, Round 5

After three consecutive draws, Hyderabad FC picked up a hard-fought victory against SC East Bengal on Tuesday. Here are a few talking points from our second victory of the campaign.

A Collective Effort

Hyderabad FC started the first half of the game with a dominating mindset by creating consistent chances and effectively restricting SC East Bengal to their half. Although our strikers came close to converting several opportunities in the opponent box, it was SCEB’s Jacques Maghoma who scored the first goal of the night to give his side the lead. HFC went into the break 0-1 down after Aridane’s penalty was denied by the keeper Debjit Majumder. But Manolo Marquez’s men came back in the second half with more purpose and grit in the attacking third. Displaying great compatibility all-round, Hyderabad’s young squad turned the tie on its head in the second half and scored three goals to seal the victory with an impressive comeback.

While our overseas players to the likes of Aridane, Joao Victor and Odei Onaindia had an impactful night on the field, the domestic contingent like Liston Colaco, Mohammad Yasir, Hitesh Sharma, Akash Mishra, Asish Rai and Chinglensana Singh put on an excellent performance as well. Rohit Danu, making his HFC and ISL debut, also managed to contribute with some threatening shots in the final minutes of the game.

Back With A Bang

After missing out the fixture against ATK Mohun Bagan due to an injury, Aridane’s return to the starting line-up was a cause for delight for our fans. The bulky Spaniard had a tough first half which ended with a missed opportunity to restore parity after his penalty was saved minutes before the half-time whistle. Aridane showed resilience in the second half, making amends for his earlier miss, by scoring a brace where both goals came in the span of a minute separated only by 39 seconds.

Aridane displayed his aerial strength, instinct and maturity as he took the lead away from SC East Bengal in an eventful 56th minute of the game. His ‘Hero of the Match’ performance also consisted of instrumental contributions in the midfield and defence as he frequently linked up play and used his strong physique to help in defending set-pieces. His lively presence and commanding leadership helped the youngsters in the final third.

The Liston Affect

Liston came on in the second half to cause problems for the East Bengal backline with his speedy runs and swift dribbles. The 22-year-old played a part in all three goals on Tuesday night, as he won the freekick that led to the first goal and made both the assists, setting up Aridane and Narzary for the second and the third goal respectively. In fact, the third goal was a highlight for Liston as he deceived Scott Neville with a run that was packed with feints before passing the ball to Narzary who sent it crashing into the net to open his scoring account for Hyderabad FC.

The Playmaker

Yasir was a calm yet creative presence in our midfield. Constantly involved in almost all the attacks, he won the penalty in the first half, before sending in an inch-perfect delivery for the equalizer in the second. His dangerous press allowed him to steal the ball off Maghoma right after the restart and he set up Liston on the right before the Goa attacker found Aridane for the second goal.

Our No. 10 regulated the midfield efficiently by creating five chances and apart from his controlled distribution and clinical movement. In fact, he was even involved in the third goal as he managed to set up Liston for his now-famous run down the left.