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Hyderabad FC beat Odisha FC 1-0 in the first ISL match for the two teams this season, with an Aridane Santana penalty proving to be the difference against his former team.
Both teams managed to put only four foreign players from the start, as Hyderabad FC missed Joel Chianese and Francisco Sandaza, while Odisha FC were without Jacob Tratt and Cole Alexander.
It was a dominant performance from start to finish by Hyderabad FC, who controlled possession well, created most of the big chances in the game, and had a lot of their youngsters putting in impressive performances.
In fact, this was Hyderabad FC's first-ever clean sheet in their ISL history.
Aridane Santana comes back to haunt his old club
From the kickoff, Hyderabad FC played on the front foot, and put Odisha FC under pressure.
The first ten minutes of the game were filled with Hyderabad forcing corners. Odisha FC needed to be organized and defend the team properly. However, Stuart Baxter's side did look a tad brittle in that situation.
Aridane Santana, who played for Odisha FC last season, was not being marked properly and he was winning his fair share of headers from corners.
He should have put Hyderabad FC ahead in the fifth minute of the game, from a Lluis Sastre corner, when he rose well above his marker. Even though the Spaniard put his header wide in that instance, the warning signs were there for Odisha.
Hyderabad FC continued to remain imaginative, even with the height of Aridane from set-pieces. They took one short to Akash Mishra, who struck a shot from distance that stung Arshdeep Singh's palms.
Eventually, the 35th-minute lead that Hyderabad achieved was well-deserved. Manuel Onwu was put under pressure in the midfield, and he gave the ball away, leading to a quick Hyderabad FC break. Halicharan Narzary took a shot from the box, which struck Odisha FC skipper Steve Taylor on the arm, and referee Tejas Nagvenkar had no option but to point to the spot.
Aridane made no mistake from the spot, as he struck his penalty straight down the middle.
Odisha FC suffer from square pegs in round holes
Odisha FC started the game with four foreigners, with three of them being in the attack. Baxter began with a clear 4-2-3-1 formation, but some of the positional calls from the manager were a bit curious.
Baxter did have his hands tied by the absence of both Vinit Rai and Jerry Mawihmingthanga, in addition to the two foreigners that he was missing. But he didn't make the best of what he had at his disposal.
Onwu showed last season that he is a striker who is at his best within the penalty area, with an excellent shot on him. That he started out on the left wing was a curious call from Baxter.
Onwu really had no impact on the game, and compounded it by giving the ball away in the build-up to Hyderabad FC winning the penalty for their goal.
In addition, Marcelinho played only 53 minutes before he was replaced by Laishram Premjit Singh. It caused more positional uncertainty with Onwu drifting between the left and the center.
Hyderabad FC youngsters put in great performances
The two Hyderabad FC full-backs - Asish Rai and Akash Singh - put in excellent performances for their team in this game.
Both were strong in their tackles, and also got forward with verve when the opportunity was afforded to them.
But the icing on the cake for Manuel Marquez Roca came when he put Liston Colaco on to replace Mohammed Yasir. The young Goan striker was a livewire, and a bit unlucky to not have had a goal in the game.
Colaco looked a yard quicker than the rest of the players on the pitch, and won several free-kicks in dangerous areas for his side. He also had a couple of terrific shots which were not far away from going in.
ISL 2020-21, OFC vs HFC: Who was the Hero of the Match?
Hyderabad FC's skipper for the day, Aridane Santana walked home with the Hero of the Match award, for a great all-round performance, that included scoring the winner.
Both Akash Mishra and Asish Rai were also contenders. But in the end, the award was given to the man who made the biggest difference for Hyderabad.
