Sivasakthi Narayanan strikes late to give Bengaluru FC all 3 points at home against valiant Hyderabad FC | ISL 2023-24
Hyderabad FC went down 1-2 to Bengaluru FC in the 93rd match of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Javi Hernandez gave the hosts the lead in the 72nd minute, only for it to be nullified by Ramhlunchhunga for Hyderabad in the 80th minute.
All seemed hunky dory with both teams all set to pick up a point apiece until substitute Sivasakthi Narayanan slotted another in the 87th minute to give Bengaluru all three points on offer.
Hyderabad held on for as long as they possibly could. But their defences were breached in the 72nd minute when Javi Hernandez turned one way, twisted the other, beat Mohammad Rafi and Sajad Parray in the air to slot in a curler past Laxmikant Kattimani's outstretched arms.
Set up by new Danish signing Oliver Drost, it was a goal that could have been hung in the National Gallery of Modern Art on Palace Road for the sense of artistic pleasure it elicited among spectators.
The Yellow and Black almost equalized moments after this goal was scored, with Abdul Rabeeh hitting the goalpost off a flat shot, but had the footballing Gods been kinder, it would have found the back of the net, and the visitors come home with at least one point.
However, the moment of the game was reserved solely for young Ramhlunchhunga, the same who had terrorised attacks across the I-League last season for Sreenidi Deccan, to find a loose ball and latch it past Gurmeet Singh Sandhu's extended right arm.
This was the first goal that Hyderabad had scored since Makan Chothe's curler against Sreenidi in the Kalinga Super Cup in January.
Hyderabad FC's young players held sway for long periods of time
In a game in which rather few decisions went their way, Thangboi Singto's young Nawabs kept their nerves and ensured that they treated the Blues with utmost caution, being so cautious as to let challenges from behind go unnoticed.
Young Jeremy Zohminghlua, who slotted in the left-back's role after Mark Zothanpuia was asked to fill in as a makeshift centre-back in Alex Saji's absence (he has been suspended), stood out in defence, as did Joseph Sunny as the sole centre-forward.
For Bengaluru, Fanai dominated in midfield with his control over possession and gave much heft to the defence-heavy side enhanced perhaps solely by the likes of Drost, Hernandez and Ryan Williams up front.
With this victory, Bengaluru go up to the eighth position of the league table from the 10th they were in before the match, while Hyderabad remained steadfast at the bottom albeit with a boost to their morale.