Odisha FC and Mohun Bagan Super Giant played out a goalless draw in the Indian Super League here on Saturday. With competitors elevating their performance levels lately, the pressure has been built on the Juggernauts to not drop points in their pursuit of the top spot of the points table.
Mumbai City FC equalled them in points last night with their win over Chennaiyin FC, as only a superior goal difference keeping the Sergio Lobera-coached side ahead in the race. However, they were unable to make the most of the opportunity at home against an upbeat Mohun Bagan Super Giant, who extended their unbeaten streak to five games under Antonio Lopez Habas in the ISL.
Contrary to what the scoreline suggests, it was an end-to-end contest that produced umpteen opportunities for either sides to break the deadlock. A total of nine shots were taken out of which six were on target, combined for both teams, with Isak Vanlalruatfela and Albanian striker Armando Sadiku leading the charge for their respective teams.
Isak, in particular, was a menace for the Mariners, coming close to bagging the first goal of the night for Odisha FC multiple times in the opening half. He forced a mistake off Anwar Ali around the 20th minute mark and targeted the top right corner but the shot failed to trouble Vishal Kaith. He had a duel with Kaith in the third minute too, making a dazzling run on the left flank before shooting his shot at the goalkeeper who held his composure to make a critical save by staying in his line.
Sadiku will be regretting not converting the several chances that came his way from close quarters. The striker had Asish Rai and Sahal Abdul Samad setting up deliveries for him both when he was at the edge of the box as well as at the centre in the 26th and 34th minute respectively. But, his efforts couldn’t make it past Amrinder Singh, and so couldn’t the ones made by Dimitrios Petratos just as the second half begin.
Bengaluru FC bounced back to winning ways with a captivating 2-1 victory against Hyderabad FC on Sunil Chhetri’s 150 Indian Super League (ISL) appearance at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to cap off the Saturday double header tonight.
Bengaluru FC beat Hyderabad FC 2-1
The Blues (18) have moved to the eighth spot with this victory, just two short of the sixth-placed Jamshedpur FC, thus helping keep their playoffs qualification hopes alive.
For a large chunk of the game, it appeared that their bid for the same would take a jolt, but specially with the deadlock not being broken 70 minutes into the match. However, the final 20 minutes saw an intense back and forth battle that saw the struggling Hyderabad FC trail, equalise, and fall back in the proceedings again to return home with no points to their name.
It all started with Spanish midfield maestro Javi Hernandez talking the initiative to open the scoring. Having not conceded any goal for such a major chunk of the match, Hyderabad FC arguably sensed a reasonable chance to get their first win of the game under their belt. That backfired immediately, with Hernandez recovering possession near the halfway mark, distributing the ball to Oliver Drost on the left flank whilst the former steered ahead to get into the box. Drost played the perfect foil, delivering a slick delivery right on Hernandez’s path, who smashed the ball in the top left corner in one go! It was some impeccable display of finishing for the attacking midfielder, who has pulled off some spectacular efforts this season already.
However, Hyderabad FC found their calling soon here, with Makan Chothe showing valour in attempting a rather outrageous shot from outside of the box that took Gurpreet Singh Sandhu aback. The goalkeeper was unable to keep hold of the ball firmly, with it dropping out of his palms to land in Ramhlunchhunga’s path on the right flank. Ramhlunchhunga pounced upon the rebound, hammering the ball into the back of the net to bring curtains down to Hyderabad FC’s unfortunate streak of going five games without scoring a goal.
However, homegrown talent Sivasakthi Narayanan ensured that Bengaluru FC had the last laugh. On a night when his skipper Chhetri brought up his historic feat, Sivasakthi produced a winner in the 87th minute that brought Bengaluru to its feet and assured the supporters that their future is in the right hands. Possessing the ball on the left flank, Sivasakthi worked his way past his Hyderabad FC markers whilst Chhetri waited for the ball inside the box. The youngster decided otherwise though, launching a shot from outside of the box straight past Laxmikant Kattimani, bringing three points to the beloved fans of the Blues.
Comments
0 comment