Hyderabad FC came from behind to shock defending champions Mumbai City FC 3-1 in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Margao, Goa on Saturday.
Ahmed Jahouh (6’) gave Mumbai City FC a dream start but goals from Joao Victor (13’(P)), Bartholomew Ogbeche (53’) and Rohit Danu (82’) helped Hyderabad FC storm back into the contest to take all three points.
The Islanders who thumped FC Goa 3-0 in the last match appeared to have taken off from where they had left off when Jahouh put them in front as early as the sixth minute. It was a well-taken goal from the former FC Goa midfielder who collected a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area before driving past the pool of defenders and slotting it into the back of the net.
But the Nizams who were full of energy earned themselves a lifeline when Joel Chianese was tripped inside the penalty area by Bipin Singh. Joao Victor expertly put away the resultant spot kick as Hyderabad FC drew level.
Manuel Marquez’s side had their tails up and Asish Rai forced a fine save from Mohammed Nawaz in the 17th minute when Aniket Jadhav did well to keep the ball in play and find Rai in space.
At the other end, Rahul Bheke missed a golden chance to restore Mumbai City FC’s lead when he failed to get a strong connection to a Jahouh corner.
A minute later, Mumbai were in again thanks to some excellent hold-up play from Angulo who found Raynier Fernandes’s run inside the box with a clever backheel. But the midfielder could not beat the goalkeeper with his shot.
The two teams remained level at 1-1 at the end of an energetic first half.
Hyderabad FC lodged ahead eight minutes after the restart when former Mumbai City FC man Ogbeche converted a pinpoint low cross from Jadhav who was played in behind the Mumbai defence thanks to a neat through ball.
Mumbai City FC then stepped up the pursuit for an equaliser but Hyderabad FC were able to thwart their attempts and it wasn’t until the 78th minute that the defending champions conjured up a chance of note.
Hyderabad FC failed to deal with a long throw-in from Bheke that found a way to Angulo who attempted an overhead kick but completely missed it allowing the ball to reach substitute Rowllin Borges at the far post who fired his effort wide.
The Nizams made Mumbai City FC pay for that miss at the other end as substitute Danu sneaked in behind the defence from a throw-in and fired it past Nawaz from a narrow angle.
Leading 3-1, Maquez’s men had little difficulty in closing the game registering their first win of the season. As for Des Buckingham’s men, it was a rude reality check after the big win over FC Goa.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Islanders who face league leaders ATK Mohun Bagan next on Wednesday. As for Hyderabad FC they take on Jamshedpur FC a day later.
