Bengaluru FC had looked a little lost after the departure of their much-loved coach Carles Cuadrat three weeks ago. Since then, it was as if the team had forgotten how to win games which is very unlike them.
On Thursday at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco, it looked like they were re-discovering themselves as the Blues were leading 2-0 till the 85th minute thanks to goals from Sunil Chhetri (9) and Leon Augustine (61).
In the remaining ten-odd minutes, the former I-League and ISL champions showed their fragile mentality that's plaguing them at the moment as Aridane Santana (86) and Fran Sandaza (90) scored late goals to snatch a 2-2 draw.
While it was pure relief for Hyderabad FC, the result will be a bitter pill to swallow for Naushad Moosa's men. In terms of the standings on the table, Hyderabad have managed to retain fourth spot but are under increasing pressure from a resurgent NorthEast United.
Bengaluru meanwhile are stranded at seventh in the table and are four points off the play-off berth and they are now winless in eight matches. They had a tough start to the game as they lost their experienced centre-back Juanan inside the first five minutes after the Spaniard pulled his hamstring.
However, they managed to take the lead inside ten minutes. Cleiton Silva swept in a brilliant free-kick from the left which was headed into the net by Chhetri.
Hyderabad were lacking their usual energy and tempo which has been the hallmark of their game this season. Despite missing Juanan, Bengaluru were doing a commendable job of keeping a close watch on the dangerous Hyderabad attackers.
Moosa's men also had the better chances in the first half with Cleiton coming close on a few occasions and it looked like things were slowly falling into place for them.
Hyderabad couldn't find a breakthrough in the first-half as they went into the break trailing 1-0.
In the second half, the Nizams enjoyed better possession but Bengaluru were defensively disciplined and managed to contain the threat posed by Manuel Roca's men.
Hyderabad fell further behind when a defensive mistake saw Leon run clear on goal and score past Laxmikant Kattimani with a sumptuous finish with the outside of his right boot. The youngster who was making his first start was left in tears as it looked like Bengaluru were looking at three points after what looked like ages.
However, there was a defensive meltdown towards the end of the game and Juanan's absence was evident with Hyderabad scoring two goals late on. The first came when Santana was picked out in the box by substitute Rohit Danu and the Spaniard had an easy tap in.
Bengaluru were left stunned in the 90th minute when Fran Sandaza scored the equaliser. A miscued shot from Roland Alberg fell straight to Fran who was unmarked in the box and he coolly slotted it past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to steal a point.