Relief for Hyderabad FC as club captain Joao Victor bags equalizer against NorthEast United to hand them first draw in 12 matches | ISL 2023-24

Hyderabad FC came from behind to draw 2-2 against NorthEast United in the 103rd match of the Indian Super League at the Maidaan in Gachibowli on Monday (March 4).

This was their first draw in 12 matches (they had lost all their other fixtures), the last of which also came against NorthEast United, in the reverse fixture on December 10.

The first goal that the Nawabs scored, in the 70th minute thanks to Makan Chothe, was their first at home since Mohammad Yasir had scored against Bengaluru FC on November 4. Joao Victor put the finishing touches barely six minutes later to ensure a point for the Yellow and Black.

NorthEast played on the front foot all game, and were the first to get on the scoresheet, thanks to a Mark Zothanpuia error and a stunner from Parthib Gogoi in the 32nd minute. Their lead was doubled in the 51st minute when an unsuspecting Alex Saji put one into his own net while defending a corner.

Zothanpuia had barely looked up to pass the ball back to Alex Saji before Jithin MS pushed him enough to divert the ball away from his prying gaze and into the welcoming lap of Gogoi situated a bare five metres away.

What happened soon afterwards will go down in lore as one of the finest curled shots ended in the back of the net beyond Laxmikant Kattimani's outstretched arms. It took all of Makan Chothe's ingenuity to beat that in the 70th minute.

Abdul Rabeeh crossed with aplomb, seeking to find someone - anyone - on the end of it. He was fortunate to find Chothe, who headed it with the nonchalance of someone who had already scored ten goals this season, and not who had struggled to take first touches all game.

By then, NorthEast had already doubled their lead via an own goal from Alex Saji. The Hyderbad centre-back saw a ball from Asheer Akhtar divert off his chest past his own goalkeeper.

Akhtar made the headlines for attempting to choke Mark Zothanpuia a few minutes after Chothe had scored, resulting in referee Pranjal Banerjee brandishing a yellow to both parties concerned.

Hyderabad dominated major chunks of the game

Hyderabad FC's Abdul Rabeeh grappling with NorthEast United's Buanthanglun Samte. [ISL]

The crowning glory of the game came in the 75th minute of the game when club captain Joao Victor waited for a loose ball to come off NorthEast goalkeeper Mirshad Michu to place into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Previous goalscorer Chothe had sent in a cross which Michu failed to lap into - a criticism that he has battled all season - and ended up gifting Victor the ball on a platter.

If it had to be anyone to score the equalizer for a struggling Hyderabad side - financially and otherwise - it was Joao Victor.

"Who else but Joao Victor!" cried the handful of home supporters who turned up at the Maidaan on a busy Monday evening, even as their chants were drowned by the NorthEast faithful, who were in considerably larger numbers than the former.

Hyderabad take a point from this game and yet remain at the bottom of the standings - their tally has now improved to five.

They now travel to Chennai to take on the Marina Machans on Saturday, March 10. NorthEast next host Punjab FC on Thursday. The Highlanders remain eighth in the table, where they had been before the game began.