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Hyderabad FC came from behind to secure a dramatic win in an eventful game against SC East Bengal at Tilak Maidan in Vasco today.
The visitors opened the scoring with Jack Maghoma, 26 minutes into the first half, but a couple of goals in under a minute by Aridane Santana in the 56th minute and Halicharan Narzary’s 68th minute tap-in were enough for Hyderabad FC even as Maghoma bagged his second late in the game.
This win takes Hyderabad to fifth place in the league table, after five games. They are level on points with Bengaluru FC in fourth and are four points off the top, with a game in hand over Mumbai City FC.
The visitors were under pressure right from kick-off but Hyderabad FC failed to take advantage of the many chances that fell their way. Mohammad Yasir was a real threat with his set-pieces but Aridane was off-target with his headers early in the game.
Nikhil Poojary squandered the best chance of the half for Hyderabad FC after a superb cross from the left by Narzary. But against the run of play, the visitors took the lead, after Anthony Pilkington and Matti Steinmann combined to find Jack Maghoma in space at the edge of the box. The SC East Bengal midfielder hit it hard and low and Subrata Paul, though got a hand onto the shot, failed to make a save.
But Hyderabad FC kept on pushing, as an animated Manuel Marquez dished out commands to his side constantly. It looked like they found a way back when Yasir was fouled in the box and Hyderabad were awarded a penalty. But Aridane’s shot was saved by Debjit on goal and it looked like a tough day on the field for the home side.
Hyderabad FC failed to take their chances, and went into the break a goal down, but were probably the better side for most of the first half in Vasco.
Liston Colaco’s introduction at the break changed the game. He won three free-kicks in less than 10 minutes. The third free-kick proved costly for the visitors as Yasir’s ball was delightful for Aridane, who got ahead of the keeper to head it in and bring us back level, 56 minutes into the game.
But Hyderabad FC were not done yet. Right from kick-off, Yasir stole the ball in the middle of the park and fed Liston, whose instinctive pass to the far post from the right manufactured a tap-in for Aridane. The Spaniard made no mistake, scoring twice in the space of 42 seconds.
Hyderabad FC never let the pressure down and just over 10 minutes later, Liston once again popped up with a mazy run, this time on the left. He left two defenders in his wake, took to the byline and played it across to Narzary, who was waiting for a tap-in at the far post. Narzary opened his goal-scoring account for the club and completed a dramatic comeback from a goal down.
Maghoma did beat Subrata Paul on goal for the second time in the 81st minute, heading it in from an Anthony Pilkington free-kick but it proved too late in the game as the Hyderabad FC side managed to run the clock down without any further damage.
Liston Colaco, with a couple of assists made the difference in the second half and handed Hyderabad FC all three points. Rohit Danu, the 18-year-old youngster made his ISL debut coming off the bench for the last 20 minutes and hit the post while Asish Rai also had a good chance, which he took to long pondering over.
Hitesh Sharma, Chinglensana Singh and Akash Mishra were bright and pro-active as usual while Aridane marked his return to action with a brace, after missing a first half penalty. Even with the many chances they missed, Hyderabad FC put in a staunch display and registered their second win of the league season.
Hyderabad FC are back in action when they host Mumbai City FC at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Sunday, December 20.
