The penultimate match of the month, the first Super Sunday face-off did not disappoint as the 77th match of the Hero Indian Super League saw an amazing encounter between Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyin FC.
Although the scoresheet read 2-0 in favour of the Nizams, the match was anything but an easy win. The Marina Machans had plenty of chances to make a comeback but luck was not on their side. There were also a few easy chances of scoring, that they couldn’t convert which contributed to their loss.
The match started with Hyderabad FC dominating the proceedings, and they got multiple corners and set pieces to score from. They broke the deadlock just 28 minutes into the match as Fran Sandaza scored from free play. It was a clinical finish as Joao Victor and Fran Sandaza set up a one-two inside the box and Fran finally took the shot after getting away from Chennaiyin FC defender Deepak Tangri.
The match went to halftime with the Nizams leading 1-0, after a very tactical and tight first half. Just a couple of minutes in, Eli Sabia‘s long-shot attempt from well outside the box managed to beat the goalkeeper but was stopped by the woodwork. A very near-goal chance missed by Chennaiyin FC, and Eli Sabia was visibly distraught with the missed opportunity.
Jerry Lalrinzuala kept pushing and creating chances since the half time and was proving to be very dangerous, troubling the Hyderabad FC defence. Reagan Singh was played into possession by Edwin Vanspaul, and he made a venomous low cross for Fatkhulo Fatkhulloev. But his finishing was poor and his shot hit the crossbar.
The biggest miss of the match went to Rahim Ali who got a golden opportunity to equalise, but his shot went wide and off-target. Lallianzuala Chhangte‘s beautiful cross to the far post was set up perfectly for the Chennaiyin FC forward but he simply failed to convert.
And as if that wasn’t enough salt in the wounds of the Chennaiyin FC players, they conceded another goal during the 83rd minute of the match. Joel Chianese converted an assist provided by Joao Victor and the Australian finished it in style. The rest of the match went by without any significant moments and the Nizams won the match in style.
Hero of the Match: Asish Rai
The DHL Winning Pass of the Match was awarded to Joao Victor and The Hero of the Match award was presented to Asish Rai for his tireless play at the right back.
The win brings Hyderabad to 22 points from 15 matches and now they are in the third position. They have their next match against NorthEast United on 7th February. Chennaiyin FC is at 7th position at present, with 16 points from 15 matches. They are going to face Bengaluru FC on 5th February next.