2021 brought good tiding to FC Hyderabad, as they achieved an easy 4-1 win over Chennaiyin FC tonight. It helped the Nizams to move to the 6th spot in the table after the 48th match of the season.
Both teams got their fair share of chances but in the end, it was the Nizams who got hold on their nerves and snatched 3 points. A brace from Halicharan Narzary proved vital. The Marina Machans faced a blow to their title run, as they remained at the 8th spot.
FC Hyderabad was looking for the goal in the very first minute, and a strong right footed shot from Joel Chianese was saved. They started the match with an attacking mode and within two minutes got a corner.
FC Chennaiyins were no less as they got their chances too. Enes Sipovic headed the ball from the centre of the box that misses to left. Soon Jerry Lalrinzuala got a corner for Marina Machans but failed to score.
The first half ended 0-0 as the defence of both teams refused to bend down to each other. Both teams got multiple chances but all of them failed to be proved lethal.
The Nizams drew the first blood in the 51st minute as Joel Chinese took a straight right footed shot from the box to the centre of the goal. It was fast, down the ground and found the net in no time.
After multiple attacks in the attacking third by Hyderabad, Halicharan Narzary doubled the lead. A magnificent left-footed shot from the left side of the box to the top left corner of the net was sufficient. Hyderabad FC started to have a heavy impact on the match from this point.
The Marina Machans got some respite as Anirudh Thapa took a right footed shot from the centre to the right corner and found the net in the 67th minute. However, Jojo Victor again extended the lead with a right-footed shot to the top left of the net at the 78th minute. The nizams put the final nail to the coffin as Halicharan scored his 2nd goal in the 79thminute to the bottom right corner.
The ‘Hero of the Match’ title went to Halicharan Narzary, for his magnificent performance. Not only he contributed 57 touches, but also scored 2 goals from 2 shots on target.
The Chennaiyins faced 3 yellow cards in 42nd, 87th and added time by Rahim Ali, L. Chalte and Momo respectively. Probably, that had some impact on the game and made them a bit sloth. Moreover, they could not recover from the double goals by the Nizams at the start of the second half.
This win will put Hyderabad at the 6th spot. Let’s see what will be their move in the next match against NorthEast United on 8th January. Chennaiyin FC will try to get full points when they face Odisha FC in their next match on 10th.
