Yasir, Siverio strike as HFC reclaim top spot midway through the ISL league phase

Hyderabad: Backing up their performance in Chennai, Hyderabad FC put on a solid performance at home to beat East Bengal FC 2-0 at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium here in Hyderabad in a noisy Friday-night thriller.

Mohammad Yasir (38’) and Javier Siverio (85’) scored at the end of either half to give Hyderabad all three points. HFC’s seventh win of the campaign takes their tally to 22 points, as they move back to the top spot mid-way through their campaign.

Manolo Marquez named an unchanged Starting XI for the night and Hyderabad started the game on the front foot, keeping the EBFC defenders on their toes. And they finally broke the deadlock, thanks to yet another stunner from Yasir.

The No. 10 chested down a tough ball that came off a clearance on a corner inside the box and hit it on the volley, leaving Kamaljit Singh on goal without a chance.

✅️ 3 points.
✅️ Clean sheet for @Gurmeetgk12.
✅️ Back on 🔝, halfway through!

A good night in Hyderabad thanks to @Mohammad_Yasir4 and @JavierSiverio97… 💪#HFCEBFC #WeAreHFC #మనహైదరాబాద్ #HyderabadFC pic.twitter.com/hMuD7h21vn

— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) December 9, 2022

Cleiton Silva had his chance before the break when he went through on goal but Gurmeet Singh, who had a super night, was there to close him down quickly. Yasir’s third goal for the season, took Hyderabad to half-time with a tender one-goal lead.

The second half was not too different, as the likes of Halicharan Narzary, Joao Victor, Nikhil Poojary, Joel Chianese and Bart Ogbeche found space and time on the ball in most attacks.

Javi Siverio and Borja Herrera came off the bench and tipped apart the EBFC backline, with Siverio and Borja missing a couple of crucial chances but the second finally arrived, just five minutes before time.

Borja found space down the left and put in a perfect low cross leaving Kamaljit stranded. Javi had a tap-in that he took and Hyderabad scored more than a goal for the first time this season at the Gachibowli Stadium

The partnership of Odei Onaindia and Chinglensana Singh proved too hard for the EBFC attack to break while Gurmeet was the savior on more than one occasion as he kept his first clean sheet of the season.

With the three points, HFC move to the top of the league table with 22 points until Mumbai City (21 pts) play in Matchweek 11.

HFC are back in action in Matchweek 12, when they take on Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerva Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, December 23.