Odisha FC picked up its second win of the season as it overcame Hyderabad FC 3-2 in a thriller
Match 36: Odisha FC v/s Hyderabad FC (3-2)
10-man Odisha FC picked up its second win of the season as it overcame Hyderabad FC 3-2 in the Hero Indian Super League match no 36 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.
Carlos Delgado (27′) and Xisco Hernandez (41′) gave Odisha a first-half lead. Odisha then had Vinit Rai sent off for a second bookable offence in the 65th minute. Odisha was awarded a penalty of its own 71 minutes into the game, which Martin Guedes converted. Rohit Kumar (89′) pulled one back at the death for the visitor but could not stop Odisha from taking all three points.
Odisha started the game on the front foot, pressing high up the field. Diawandou Diagne’s cross-field ball was brought under control by Aridane Santana. The intensity paid off when Xisco set up the first goal with a dangerous in-swinging delivery from a corner. Goalkeeper Kamaljit failed to punch the ball away and Delgado headed home the opening goal. A curling effort from Robin Singh flew inches wide as Hyderabad attempted to equalise but it was the home team who struck again before the break.
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Draw | GF | GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATK | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 14 |
| Bengaluru FC | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 13 |
| FC Goa | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 12 |
| Jamshedpur Football Club | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 12 |
| NorthEast United FC | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Odisha FC | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| Mumbai City FC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 7 |
| Kerala Blasters FC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| Chennaiyin FC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 6 |
| Hyderabad FC | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 4 |
The creator turned scorer as Xisco initiated a threatening move from the centre and passed it to Jerry Mawihmingthanga who returned the favour with a pin-point cross that the Spaniard buried from inside the box. Odisha continued to threaten to add to its tally. Xisco was afforded a great chance to put the game to bed soon after the break when he was fed through by Jerry. The Spaniard’s dipping strike flew wide of the target.
Odisha was then reduced to ten men when Vinit Rai handled the ball inside the box, conceded a penalty and was sent off for picking up a second yellow. Bobo made no mistake from 12 yards to give his team a chance to get back into the game. Hyderabad’s hopes of a comeback were soon ended as Giles Barnes fouled substitute Martin Guedes and conceded a penalty at the other end. The Argentine stepped up and coolly slotted into the net to take the game away from Phil Brown’s men.
Hyderabad reduced the deficit in the 89th minute when a hopeful cross into the box by Gurtej Singh was headed in by Rohit Kumar but it was nothing more than a consolation.
After eight matches, Odisha is sixth on the table with nine points while Hyderabad is at the bottom with four points.
Match 35: Jamshedpur FC v/s Chennaiyin FC (1-1)
Issac Vanmalswama came in as a late substitute to help Jamshedpur FC with the equaliser as the host held a determined Chennaiyin FC to a 1-1 draw.
The arrival of its new head coach Owen Coyle seemed to inspire the former champion as it showed a renewed resolve to resurrect its form. Chennaiyin looked more organised in the opening half and did well with the wing play with Thoi Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte mobilising the attacks on either side.The absence of the Spaniards – forward Sergio Castel and play-maker Piti – seemed to hinder the offensive plans of the host, which had to rely on the Indian combination of Sumeet Passi, C. K. Vineeth and Farukh Choudhary in the attacking third. That Jamshedpur failed to manage even one shot at goal spoke a lot about the lack of purpose in its offensive ranks in the first half.
The Chennaiyin goal happened after a good understanding between Valskis and Rafael Crivellaro in the 26th minute. A one-two exchange from the pair opened up a decisive gap in the Jamshedpur’s otherwise tight defence as Crivellaro essayed an inch-perfect pass for Valskis, who picked up the ball and finished with a delectable half-turn. The visitor could have managed a bigger lead but for Subrata Paul in the Jamshedpur goal. The former India goalkeeper cut off a few good Chennaiyin moves that seemed to threaten the host in the opening half.
The absence of an accomplished finisher kept bothering the host which showed more offensive intent after the break with the introduction of the young Aniket Jadhav. Jadhav did compound the worries of the Chennaiyin defence, which was led by the towering Romanian Lucian Goian, and the host finally managed the equaliser with a minute of a regulation time remaining. Chennaiyin was left to rue that miss in the 89th minute when Aniket Jadhav showed silky skills to fox a couple of defenders and find Passi inside the box. He picked out Issac whose shot was deflected in off Farukh Choudhury, wrong-footing the goalkeeper.
This article was originally published in Sportstar.com