ISL 2019-20: Hyderabad FC 0-1 NorthEast United FC | 5 Hits and Flops as the Highlanders move to the top of the table
Hyderabad FC hosted NorthEast United FC in their second home game of the Indian Super League season. After two consecutive defeats, the competition debutants tasted victory for the first time in their home debut against Kerala Blasters. The team from the city of pearls were looking for their second victory of the season against NorthEast United FC.
The Highlanders aimed to go into the international break with their unbeaten record intact and Hyderabad started the game with only three foreign players in the starting eleven, as they were hampered by injuries to many of their key players. The Highlanders did not have any such concerns before the game as their star defender Kai Heerings was declared fit to play by the medical team.
NorthEast United registered a 1-0 victory courtesy of a goal from Maximiliano Barreiro in the 86th minute. By virtue of their victory, they moved to the top of the table with eight points from four games.
Hyderabad started the game on a bright note and took everyone by surprise including their opponents. The men in black created a lot of chances in the first half and could have been leading by two or three goals, but the NorthEast backline managed to keep the scores tied 0-0 at half time.
Like their last match against FC Goa, NorthEast United came out as a completely different side in the second half. The game opened up a lot after the interval and both sides had more than a few chances to break the deadlock.
On that note, let us take a look at five hits and flops from today's game.
#5 Flop- Mislav Komorski
Mislav Komorski had a disastrous outing and the Croatian centre half was rightly substituted at half time. The defender made numerous inaccurate passes which led to a turnover of possession and the away side created numerous chances by capitalizing on his mistakes.
Mislav's lacklustre display harmed the whole team as they lost their usual rhythm to play out from the back and had to resort to playing long balls in the first half.
The whole team found its rhythm and touch in the second half after Mislav was substituted. The Highlanders will hope that Mislav gets his act together and comes back more focused after the international break.
The sight of young Indian players like Abhishek Halder and Mohammed Yasir getting past Mislav with relative ease isn't something the NorthEast United faithful would want to see again or remember.