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Indian Super League (ISL) champions Hyderabad FC came from behind to defeat Chennaiyin FC 3-1 in the Durand Cup at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal on Friday (August 26). The Nizams went into the break trailing 0-1 before a brace from Bartholomew Ogbeche in the second half ensured a memorable comeback victory for them.
Hyderabad FC came into the fixture on the back of a clinical 2-0 victory over TRAU FC in their opening game of the tournament. While Halicharan Narzary and Borja Gonzalez found the back of the net during the game, the Nizams missed multiple glorious opportunities and Manolo Marquez would've been hoping for his team to right those wrongs. Meanwhile, Chennaiyin FC were held to a draw in a thrilling 2-2 encounter against the Army Red FT.
Right from the opening exchanges, the match, expectedly, unraveled as a balanced contest. Both teams expertly negated the attacking threat from each other.
However, right before the half-time whistle, Anirudh Thapa opened the scoring for Chennaiyin FC with an exquisite finish in the 42nd minute. Sajal Bag played a delicious diagonal ball to the skipper and the midfielder brought it down with a peach of first touch before bamboozling Laxmikant Kattimani in goal. The Marina Machans went into the break with a slender lead on the board.
Ruthless Hyderabad FC humble Chennaiyin FC in the second half
Football is a game of two halves and Chennaiyin FC were made well aware of it on Friday. Hyderabad FC increased their pressure going into the second half and were rewarded for it immediately. Fallou Diagne was red-carded after the centre-back attempted to clear the ball off-the-line with his arm. Joao Victor restored parity from the resulting penalty as he slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
With a man down, Chennaiyin struggled to keep up with the Nizams' high intensity pressing. The floodgates opened up and, in the 64th minute, the talismanic Ogbeche gave Hyderabad FC the lead. Before Thomas Brdaric's men could recuperate, Ogbeche added a second to take his team 3-1 ahead.
In the dying moments of the game, Chennaiyin threw caution to the wind and tried to pull a goal back. Narayas Das laid the ball for Petar Sliskovic, whose first-time shot hit the inside of the far post and rolled out. In the end, however, it was too little, too late.
