Spectre of missed chances haunts Hyderabad FC in draw against NorthEast United | Indian Super League 2023-24

Hyderabad FC bagged just their fourth point of the ongoing Indian Super League season after coming back strongly to draw against NorthEast United FC 1-1 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.

The Nawabs were barraged with an array of shots by NorthEast in the early stages of the game, and for most of the first half, it appeared as if there was just one team in the game.

The Highlanders will rue the fact that they failed to convert most of the shots they landed in the Nawabs' box, especially in the first half, when they virtually toyed with the latter's defence.

A Nim Dorjee Tamang own goal, coming from an exciting set-piece of NorthEast separated the two teams till the 44th minute when a Hyderabad counter-attack found Mohammad Yasir with acres of space in the final third.

He promptly set Finnish midfielder Petteri Pennanen up, who slotted home his first goal for the club to equalise.

Although striker Nestor Albiach was one of the best players for the Highlanders today, he was also responsible for missing a host of chances that could have given them all three points in front of a vocal Sarusajai crowd.

Hyderabad FC's defence appeared to be in a shambles for most of the first half, as did their midfield. The hosts had most of the possession and played back-and-forth with the Nawabs in their half, waiting for the right time to strike.

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Hyderabad FC dominated the game in the second half

The NorthEast press - that had disturbed Hyderabad so much in the first half - was virtually non-existent in the second, with the reliable conclusion being drawn of the players being exhausted.

The Nawabs started building their gameplay in the second and managed to control most of the possession although their inability to convert their chances into goal - a spectre that has haunted them all season- made them settle for just a point.

To be sure, Hyderabad FC's chances were much less than the number of shots that the hosts took today. NorthEast took 25 shots in total out of which six were on target whereas the Nizams took a pitiful eleven out of which only two were on target.

Nonetheless, this result will infuse an iota of confidence into Hyderabad FC, whose off-field troubles have seen no end. Earlier this week, striker Felipe Amorim terminated his contract with the club while centre-back Oswaldo Alanis ended his career and moved out of India owing to the alleged non-payment of wages.

The Yellow and Blacks, slated to travel to Bhubaneswar to take on Odisha FC in their next game on December 17, continue to languish at the bottom of the table with four points.

The Highlanders go up to the sixth position of the table with the point that they gained here. They next host Mohun Bagan on December 15.