Guwahati: Hyderabad FC put on a stellar display on a noisy Thursday night at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati as they beat NorthEast United 3-0 to register their first win of the 2022-23 Indian Super League campaign.
Bartholomew Ogbeche (13’), Halicharan Nazary (69’) and Borja Herrera (73’) found the back of the net but it could have been more as HFC’s dominant display helped them to three crucial points in Round 2 of this season’s campaign.
It all started with Ogbeche’s tap-in from a Mohammad Yasir ball in from the left. Yasir made the most of a free-kick won by Narzary and put in a superb cross and Ogbeche just couldn’t miss.
Narzary was a thorn in the NorthEast backline, as he got Irshad Md booked early in the game and had his say in every attack. HFC created quite a few chances but failed to beat Arindam on goal as they went into the break, just a goal to the good.
However, Hyderabad never allowed the Highlanders to settle into the game and even after the break, were dominant for most parts.
And the second finally arrived with a mistake at the back as Narzary stole the ball from Gaurav Bora, and slotted in without fuzz. It was his second goal of the season but the local boy was not finished yet.
Borja Herrera, who came on in the second half, played Narzary in with a beautiful ball and got it back from the winger in a dangerous position inside the box.
The Spaniard’s instinctive volley was too good for Arindam and Hyderabad were 3-0 up with less than 20 minutes to play.
It could have been more as Bartholomew Ogbeche missed a penalty he won in the 50th minute. He took a boot to his head from Bora to win the spot-kick but hit it too close to Arindam, who pulled out a decent save.
He also hit the bar late in the game as Hyderabad completely left NorthEast United playing catch up. But it stayed 3-0 at the end as Manolo’s men registered yet another victory over the Highlanders.
Halicharan Narzary, who scored one and set up another, was the Hero of the Match on the night, but there were plenty of impressive performances all over the pitch for HFC.
This win takes Hyderabad FC to four points from two games, as they climb up to the top spot, at least temporarily.
They are back in action when they take on Bengaluru FC on Sunday, October 22.
Note: This is a release from the Hyderabad FC media
