HYDERABAD: Languishing at the bottom of the points table, a 10-man Hyderabad FC reversed their fortunes and recorded a thrilling 1-1 draw against the defending champions, Bengaluru FC here on Friday. Robin Singh tapped the ball in the added time to record a memorable finish for the ISL debutants on their home ground, GMC Balayogi Stadium.
Carles Cuadrat’s side, fresh off two wins, did not make any change to the playing XI from their last encounter when they beat Kerala Blasters 1-0. On the other hand, Hyderabad made two changes. However, that failed to give them a good start as Sunil Chhetri took less than two minutes to breach their defence and gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.
A weak clearance from Hyderabad skipper and goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh meant the ball came in possession of the Indian talisman, who made no mistake in slotting the ball home.
The stark difference between the teams was palpable from the moment the ball was kicked off. While Hyderabad might have not been able to pull off as many wins as they would have liked, they were still able to hold on to the ball in all of their previous matches. However, in their latest encounter, they could not do that. The visitors had 65 per cent possession, and three shots on target to Hyderabad none at half time.
To make matters worse for Phil Brown’s boys, Sahil Panwar was sent off in the 56th minute. It happened after Bengaluru midfielder Udanta Singh made a brilliant run before Panwar brought him down at the edge of the box. The effectiveness of Bengaluru’s defence could be gauged from the fact that until 70th minute, Hyderabad could not shoot even one shot on target.
It all looked over for Hyderabad when substitute Robin Singh changed the course of the game. In the 92nd minute of the game, Hyderabad midfielder Marko Stankovic sent a long ball to defender Ashish Rai, who attempted a shot, but Bengaluru goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu blocked it. In came the burly Robin Singh, the former Bengaluru striker, tapping the ball just in time to shock the defending champions.
Though the team still remains at the bottom of the table, this drawn face-off might just be the catalyst that was needed to push the team through. They will take on Goa FC in yet another home game on December 8.