Bengaluru FC Vs FC Goa
A Javi Hernandez brace ended Bengaluru FC’s five-match winless and four-match goalless run as they picked up a 2-0 win against FC Goa in matchweek 8 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Goa, on Saturday. The Blues also nabbed their first clean sheet since their season opener as they handed the Gaurs their first home defeat of the season.
Both sides made a couple of changes to their lineups. FC Goa midfielder Edu Bedia found himself on the bench as Princeton Rebello took his place in the starting XI. The other change for the hosts included Noah Wail Sadaoui in the lineup as Redeem Tlang dropped to the bench. Alan Costa and Bruno Silva were dropped to the bench for Bengaluru FC as Aleksandar Jovanovic, and Prabir Das started the game.
In the opening couple of minutes, FC Goa pushed forward with Alvaro Vazquez, who sprinted into the box and got his shot away from a tight angle. The on-target effort was collected comfortably by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who had his near post covered.
Javi Hernandez broke the deadlock and ended Bengaluru FC’s goal drought in the 27th minute. Anwar Ali was closed down by Roy Krishna as he brought the ball out defence – Krishna put Hernandez through on goal and the Spaniard calmly slotted it past Dheeraj Singh to give the Blues their first goal since Matchweek 2.
In the 37th minute, Gurpreet was at full stretch to push Vazquez’s free-kick away to safety. At the other end, in first-half stoppage time, Dheeraj came darting out of the box towards the right flank and took Krishna out. The FC Goa shot-stopper only saw a yellow card for his foul on the Fijian striker.
In the second half, FC Goa started on the front foot. However, it was Bengaluru FC who doubled their advantage in the 57th minute. As the Gaurs swarmed forward, the Blues broke on the counter with Udanta Singh, who dinked it through to Hernandez. The Spaniard entered the box, rounded the keeper, and calmly slotted the ball into an empty net.
Ten minutes from time, Krishna received a long ball from defence and tried to chip it over the keeper. The ball sailed over the keeper and was inches away from the far post. At the other end, in the next minute, Ali rocketed one towards the top-left corner of goal. Gurpreet Singh produced a timely save as he got fingertips on it and put it behind for a corner.
After the defeat, FC Goa remain in fourth spot, three points behind Odisha FC in third, while Bengaluru FC move from tenth to eighth position, three points behind Chennaiyin FC. The Gaurs’ next match will be a visit to Mumbai City FC on December 1. Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC will return home to host ATK Mohun Bagan FC on December 3.
ATK Mohun Bagan Vs Hyderabad FC
ATK Mohun Bagan bounced back from a loss last week to seal three points against Hyderabad FC in matchweek 8 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Saturday. The result was defending champions Hyderabad FC’s second straight loss in the Hero ISL and meant they relinquished top spot on the table.
Hyderabad FC made four changes to their starting line-up, pushing Nikhil Poojary onto the left wing and bringing in Reagan Singh, Hitesh Sharma, and Borja Herrera, while Gurmeet Singh replaced Anuj Kumar in goal. ATK Mohun Bagan replaced the injured Dimitri Petratos and Joni Kauko with Ashique Kuruniyan and Carl McHugh.
The home side started on the front foot in what turned out to be a feisty first half with robust challenges. In the 11th minute, ATKMB’s pressure on Hyderabad FC’s high line paid off. Liston Colaco played Hugo Boumous through from the right side of central midfield after drawing Hyderabad FC’s defence towards him. He was fouled in the process, but the referee played advantage.
This allowed Boumous to break through on goal. As Hyderabad FC’s defense recovered, Boumous drew them in before playing Ashique Kuruniyan through on the left side. The winger burst forward before whipping it across goal to find Boumous at the far post, who finished off the job he started.
Hyderabad FC’s attempts to push forward were all impeded by a well organised ATKMB who conceded no shots on target in the first half, and were able to quickly move forward after regaining possession. However, this speed in counterattack cost them Manvir Singh’s presence in the 41st minute, as the forward was injured by a full-blooded crunching tackle by Hitesh just before half time.
At half-time, Hyderabad FC brought in Hallicharan Narzary to replace Reagan, but it was still ATKMB on the front foot. Once again, it was Colaco leading the charge, the forward finding himself in a one-on-one situation against Gurmeet in the 51st minute, only for the keeper to push the shot wide.
Hyderabad FC’s first shot on target came in the 73rd minute, when Bartholomew Ogbeche was teed up from a freekick just outside the box. The striker’s right-footed shot was hit with force, but Vishal Kaith managed to get behind the ball and punch it away to his left.
In the 79th minute, Subhasish Bose missed another chance for ATKMB to put the game to bed, hitting his header from a corner kick into the floor and eventually over the crossbar. In stoppage time, substitute Javier Siverio was set up nicely by a cross from the right wing, but nodded his header wide. That turned out to be Hyderabad FC’s last substantial chance as ATK Mohun Bagan held on to seal three points.
The result means defending champions Hyderabad FC are now second on the table, while ATKMB rise to fourth place. Hyderabad FC travel to Chennai on December 3 for their next game, while ATK Mohun Bagan play away against Bengaluru FC on the same day.
