Hyderabad comes from behind to beat Odisha in a five-goal thriller
Hyderabad came from behind to hand Odisha a 3-2 defeat in ‘Match 73’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season. Jerry Mawihmingthanga scored the opener for the Kalinga Warriors right at the stroke of halftime, but the second half saw a Nizams blitzkrieg as goals from Joel Chianese, Joao Victor and Akash Mishra gave them a 3-1 lead. Though Jonathas reduced the margin for deficit for Odisha, his goal served as a mere consolation.
Hyderabad head coach Manolo Marquez made plenty of changes to his starting XI. Nim Dorjee Tamang started in defense ahead of Chinglensana Singh, whereas Joel Chianese replaced Javi Siverio. Juanan also returned in central defense, which allowed Victor to return to his holding midfielder’s role, replacing Hitesh Sharma.
On the other hand, Odisha’s interim head coach Kino Garcia made only one change ton his starting XI. Gaurav Bora replaced the injured Hector Rodas, as interestingly, Garcia fielded only three foreigners despite having Jonathas available.
The game had a sedate start as the first major opening fell to Marquez’s men in the 23rd minute. Nikhil Poojari lost his marker and drilled in a great cross for Chianese from the right flank but the Australian’s header was not on target.
The Nizams claimed for a penalty seven minutes later when in an attempt to reach a loose ball in the penalty area, Ogbeche not a nudge from behind. However, referee CR Srikrishna did not found the contact enough to award a penalty.
Though Hyderabad fully controlled the tempo of the game, Jerry Mawihmingthanga handed Odisha the crucial lead minutes before the lemon break. Nandakumar Sekar found the Mizo winger with a cross from the left flank and Jerry made no mistake in slotting his shot past Laxmikant Kattimani in the Hyderabad goal.
The Kalinga Warriors almost doubled their lead right at the start of the second half as a ricochet allowed Javi Hernandez to pull the trigger, but his powerful effort struck the crossbar. It turned out to be a turning point, as Hyderabad equalized only five minutes later.
Akash Mishra took on multiple defenders with his sensational run down the left flank before drilling an accurate ball in the penalty box, which was headed home by Chianese to restore parity in the game. Right at the hour mark, Jerry attempted an audacious long range shot after seeing Kattimani is off his line, but he could not find the target.
Having been served a wake-up call, Hyderabad took the lead in the 70th minute, courtesy of an absolute stunner from Victor. After collecting a pass from Asish Rai, the Brazilian swiftly turned and pulled the trigger as the ball rifled into the top left corner, leaving Arshdeep stranded.
Akash Mishra scored Hyderabad’s third goal
Three minutes later, the Nizams doubled their lead from a freekick. Substitute Yasir Mohammad floated in a brilliant ball and Mishra, who assisted Chianese’s goal, was at the right place at the right time to flick the delivery towards the goal.
Garcia played his hand by bringing on new loan signing Redeem Tlang, who had an instant impact. In the 84th minute, Redeem collected a long ball from the right flank in the penalty area before playing it to another substitute Jonathas, whose shot caught Kattimani off-guard as the Kalinga Warriors made the scoreline 3-2. However, that goal was nothing more than a consolation and it was the last big opening of the match.
Hyderabad remains in pole position with this win and now face NorthEast United on Monday, while the seventh-placed Odisha will lock horns with Goa on Tuesday.