Indian Super League: Hyderabad beat Chennaiyin 3-1
Chennai: Hyderabad FC returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats as they beat Chennaiyin FC 3-1 in the Indian Super League here on Saturday.
Halicharan Narzary (65th minute), Chinglensana Singh (74th) and substitute Borja Herrera (85th) struck in the second half to push the defending champions back into second place. Petar Sliskovic (78th) scored the only goal for the home team. In the second match of the day played in Bengaluru, Dimitri Petratos produced a top-drawer long-range shot as a resilient ATK Mohun Bagan took all three points in a 1-0 win against Bengaluru FC. The loss was Bengaluru FC's fifth one of the season.
At the Nehru stadium here, Chennaiyin made four changes that saw Gurmukh Singh, Vincy Barretto, Edwin Vanspaul and Abdenasser El Khayati coming in as Vafa Hakhamaneshi, Sajal Bag, Sourav Das and Jockson Dhas were left out.
A couple of changes for the visitors saw Joel Chianese and Halicharan Narzary return to the lineup, as Borja Herrera was benched and Reagan Singh was not in the squad.
Hyderabad FC almost got their noses in front in first-half stoppage time. Nikhil Poojary crossed the ball from the right flank before Fallou Diagne beat Chianese to it. However, a clearance went straight to Narzary, whose shot rattled the crossbar.
Five minutes past the hour-mark, the deadlock was broken with a superb strike from Narzary. Hyderabad FC's short corner routine saw Chennaiyin FC tackle the ball straight into the path of Narzary, who wrapped his boot around it and buried it into the back of the net.
Moments after the opening goal, Chennaiyin FC were reduced to 10 men when right-back Ajith was shown a second yellow in the 71st minute.
Approaching the game's final quarter, the visitors doubled their advantage thanks to Chinglensana Singh's close-range volley. Another corner was not cleared properly by Chennaiyin FC as they only cleared it as far as Chinglensana, who smashed it into the goal from close range in the 74th minute.
Four minutes later, the Marina Machans pulled one back when El Khayati's cross from the left was headed in from close range by Sliskovic. However, the joy was short-lived as the men in yellow re-established their two-goal advantage seven minutes later.
The win lifted Hyderabad FC back into second place, two points behind leaders Mumbai City FC.
Chennaiyin FC remained in seventh place, two points behind FC Goa and Kerala Blasters FC.
At the Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru FC made one change to their starting XI, with Sunil Chhetri replacing an injured Udanta Singh. ATK Mohun Bagan made two chances, bringing in Lenny Rodrigues and Petratos. It was Bengaluru FC that started the match on the front foot, troubling ATKMB's backline with a high press.
They were almost instantly rewarded for their approach in the fifth minute when Pritam Kotal was pressed during a goal kick and passed the ball straight into the path of a rushing Javi Hernandez, who found himself one-on-one with Vishal Kaith but only hit it into the goalkeeper's body.
