East Bengal FC go down 0-2 to Hyderabad FC despite valiant effort

It was a disappointing night at Hyderabad’s G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium for East Bengal FC on Friday as they ended up losing 0-2 despite a valiant effort from the boys.

EBFC Head Coach Stephen Constantine was forced to make one change to the playing XI as Ankit Mukherjee replaced Sarthak Golui, who missed out due to a foot injury.

In the very first minute of the game, EBFC had a golden chance of going ahead. The in-form Naorem Mahesh Singh passed the ball from the left flank to Semboi Haokip who made a brilliant run into the centre. However, the ball hit the tip of Haokip’s boot and went off target.

The first 30 minutes of the game witnessed a neck-to-neck battle as both teams tried their best to break the deadlock.
In the 38th minute, Mohammed Yasir got the breakthrough for Hyderabad FC. There was an attempted header by Hitesh Sharma that got deflected and went to Yasir. He took the ball on his chest and fired it into the top-left corner of the net. A dive from custodian Kamaljit Singh went in vain.

The first half saw just one goal from Hyderabad FC and the Red & Gold Brigade were determined to stage a comeback. Kamaljit pulled off some amazing saves to thwart the threatening Nizams on multiple occasions.

In the 84th minute, the Nizams doubled their lead. A through ball from the left wing by Borja Herrera was converted by Javier Siverio. He slid past Kamaljit and netted a goal.

Speaking to the media after the game, Constantine said, “I thought the boys fought very well, they gave everything they had, and when you play that well for 55-60 minutes against a team that is in first place, you think you deserve something out of the game. We are disappointed, but the boys gave a good account of themselves.”

EBFC will next face Mumbai City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on 16th December 2022.