East Bengal vs Hyderabad FC: Nizams edge past the Torchbearers to keep their ISL 2022-23 Shield hopes alive

Hyderabad FC returned to winning ways by trouncing East Bengal 0-2 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday, January 20. Javier Siverio and Aaren D'Silva scored for the Nizams.

Establishing the gulf in class, Hyderabad FC were all over the hosts right from the opening exchanges. Soon enough, they were rewarded for their superiority in possession. In the ninth minute itself, the defending champions pulled through a goal from Siverio.

Borja Herrera whipped in a delicious cross from deep to find the Spanish forward, who had made an inch-perfect run. Siverio twitched his neck muscles and guided the ball into the far post with a delicate header.

Minutes later, the Spaniard had another opportunity to double Hyderabad FC's lead but Kamaljit Singh stepped in with a brilliant point-blank save.

The entirety of the play was unfolding in and around the opposition box. Despite all the positivity in their play, the visitors failed to bag a cushion goal. However, in the 28th minute, East Bengal had a rare opportunity when Lalchungnunga's long throw found VP Suhair inside the box. The latter's back header clipped the crossbar and was later cleared to safety by the Nizams.

Unhindered by the rare blip, Hyderabad FC continued to test East Bengal's defense but there was no way past Kamaljit.

---

Hyderabad FC manage to expertly see out East Bengal in the second half

Coming out after the break, East Bengal displayed some resilience in the opening exchanges. The Red and Gold Brigade almost immediately came close to restoring parity. After some cagey play inside the opposition box, the ball fell for Cleiton Silva. However, the Brazilian forward somehow managed to drag his effort wide in astonishing fashion.

In the 68th minute, the Torchbearers had another glorious opportunity but Cleiton's effort was denied by Gurmeet Singh. The intensity had seemingly fizzled out of the game and hence both coaches opted to bring in fresh legs. Despite creating multiple opportunities, the Nizams failed to double their lead, or so it seemed.

In the 93rd minute, substitute Aaren D'Silva left Sarthak Golui in splits before curling the ball past Kamaljit and securing the three points. Despite heroics from the East Bengal custodian, the Red and Gold Brigade slumped to yet another loss.

The three points put Hyderabad FC on 35 points from 15 matches, four adrift of league leaders Mumbai City FC. Meanwhile, the loss means East Bengal are out of the knockout slot equations, if not for a miracle.