KOLKATA — A late
strike by Raphael Messi Bouli and an own goal by Manoj Mohammed helped East
Bengal FC defeat Hyderabad FC 2-0 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at
the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, here on Wednesday. The Red and
Gold Brigade have thus won thrice in a row for the first time in the ISL.
Their two late goals came off the only couple of chances
they took on target, despite holding only 46.5% of possession and completing
76% of their passes in this game. East Bengal FC are now at the eighth spot
with 27 points from 22 games.
They absorbed pressure for a major chunk of the opening 10
minutes before Nishu Kumar enabled the home side to break free with a fast
counterattack, laying a well-weighted pass for Raphael Messi Bouli at the
offensive end on the left flank. Messi Bouli could have squared up the pass for
Dimitrios Diamantakos, placed at the other end of the box, but ended up
hammering the ball over the top left corner as his shot could not land on
target, bringing about a hurried end to a promising attacking endeavour.
Hyderabad FC retaliated through Ayush Adhikari’s impeccable
vision for a decisive pass in the 20th minute, as he breached the entire East
Bengal FC backline with an aerial ball that landed at the feet of Edmilson
Correia on the right side of the 18-yard box.
Correia marched ahead but was compelled by Anwar Ali into a
difficult, narrow-angle, from where the final shot lacked precision and was
kept at bay by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.
The lack of communication between Messi Bouli and
Diamantakos was evident again in the 54th minute when Gill launched a powerful
and precise long ball for the former on the right flank that caught the
Hyderabad FC defence off-guard. The East Bengal FC attacking duo moved in
tandem inside the away side’s defence, but Messi Bouli still didn’t square up a
pass for the Greek forward and instead opted to go solo, striking the woodwork
on the left flank, though an unmarked Diamantakos could have had a better
chance of nestling a goal.
Richard Celis showed great vigour in recovering possession
from the centre of the park before sparking a quick burst of pace to land
inside the Hyderabad FC box at the hour mark. Celis found Naorem Mahesh Singh
in the middle of the 18-yard area, but the latter was unable to sort his feet
properly and ended up shooting the ball off-target, past the left post, despite
having ample space and time to take a composed shot at the goal.
There were two key highlights of the game right until the
end, i.e. individual lapses by the Hyderabad FC backline and Messi Bouli’s
industrious efforts to break the deadlock.
Both aspects came to the fore in the concluding 10 minutes,
starting with Manoj Mohammed’s own goal following a corner by East Bengal FC in
the 86th minute, as the away team’s backline wore a disoriented look courtesy
of East Bengal FC piling up numbers forward and complementing that with some
brilliance upfront by their dynamic forwards.
Manoj’s hasty attempt at keeping the ball away from the danger
zone backfired before Saul Crespo and Messi Bouli joined hands to land the
second goal in the added time of the second half.
The Red and Gold Brigade hit Hyderabad FC with an immediate
counter-attack, and Crespo was quick to spot and serve the attacker a pass at
the centre of the Hyderabad FC box. Messi Bouli picked the ball with a deft
touch and slotted it into the bottom left corner to double the lead and take
three points to their tally.
