Hyderabad FC cruised to a resounding 5-1 win over NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Thursday and ended their Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 campaign with a rare victory. The result also ended the team’s 14-match winless run and marked their first triumph since they bested Kerala Blasters FC back in November 2, 2019.

  • Liston Colaco and Marcelo Pereira scored in the 12th and 13th minute respectively to give Hyderabad a 2-0 lead.
  • Andrew Keogh made it 2-1 briefly in the 35th minute but Colaco restored Hyderabad’s two-goal advantage six minutes later.
  • Mohammed Yasir made it 4-1 ten minutes after restart.
  • Marcelo scored his second of the night in the 88th minute to seal the 5-1 win.

The away team was on the front foot right from the first whistle as the initial 10 minutes saw NorthEast goalkeeper Pawan Kumar make multiple saves to keep out a dangerous-looking Marcelo Pereira. Adil Khan even found the back of the net as early as the third minute from Marcelo's free-kick but it was ruled out for offside.

Hyderabad finally found their goal in the 12th minute after a missed clearance by Pawan presented a chance to Liston Colaco and the young striker slotted into an empty net to make it 1-0. Seconds later, Marcelo made it 2-0 after taking advantage of another defensive lapse by the home team, this time by Milan Singh.

The visitors could have gone 3-0 up in the 19th minute but Pawan made a good save to deny Nestor Benitez's effort to keep the deficit to 2-0.

After the early shocks, the Highlanders finally recovered and managed to get a foothold on the game after the 20-minute mark. Martin Chaves had two very good opportunities to reduce the deficit in quick succession but the young Uruguayan fluffed his lines on both occasions. In the 35th minute, however, Chaves amended himself as he set up striker Andrew Keogh for his maiden Hero ISL goal with a fine cross.

Six minutes later, Liston scored his second of the night to restore Hyderabad's two-goal advantage. Reagan Singh had managed to block off Nestor's initial shot but Liston pounced on the rebound and rifled his shot in past Pawan Kumar. The first half ended with the score reading 3-1 in Hyderabad's favour.

Ten minutes after the restart, Hyderabad extended their lead through Mohammed Yasir. Pawan managed to parry Liston's stinging shot from distance but Yasir followed up to place the rebound past the helpless NorthEast custodian.

Marcelo could have scored two more in the following 10 minutes, but his first shot was saved by Pawan, whilst the second came off the woodwork. His teammate Marko Stankovic, too, found the upright in the 66th minute after beating Pawan. NorthEast interim head coach Khalid Jamil brought on 16-year-old Alfred Lalruotsang for the final 10 minutes, making him the youngest player to make a first team appearance in the Hero ISL.

With two minutes to go for regulation time, Marcelo scored his second of the night after beating substitute goalkeeper Soram Poirei with a well-placed shot from the edge of the box. The match eventually ended 5-1 in Hyderabad’s favour.

Hero of the Match – Liston Colaco

The young striker was a lively presence for Hyderabad throughout the game and capped off his performance with a brace. He also played a defining part in Mohammed Yasir’s goal and was named the Hero of the Match.

AWARDS

Club Award – Hyderabad FC

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match – Marcelo Pereira

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Nestor Jesus

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Mohammed Yasir

Hero of the Match – Liston Colaco

Watch the match highlights here:

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Hyderabad FCNorthEast United FC 2019-2020Match 86, NorthEast United FC vs Hyderabad FC - 2019Match Report