ISL 9 | Hyderabad ekes out a draw against Chennaiyin

Bartholomew Owogbalor Ogbeche of Hyderabad FC and Y. Jiteshwor Singh of Chennaiyin FC in action during ISL match played between Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyin FC in Hyderabad on January 12, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Defending champion Hyderabad FC fought back from a solitary goal deficit to hold Chennaiyin FC to a one-all draw in the Hero Indian Super League football at the GMC Balayogi Stadium here on Thursday.

It was a story of missed chances for both teams in the first-half. On resumption after the break, a beautiful header from Petar Sliskovic off a curling corner from Akash Sangwan in the 57th minute saw Chennaiyin take the lead.

There was little to choose till then between the two sides with Chennaiyin having a go at the HFC citadel quite a few times. But, the home team’s defence was equal to the task as has been the case in this edition.

The closest HFC came to scoring in the first half was when Javier Toro’s header from inside the box was collected on the half-volley by the custodian Samik Mitra in the 18th minute just shortly before Borja Gonzalez’s header sailed over the bar.

For Chennaiyin, Vincy Baretto sprinted down the centre into the box and had only the custodian Gurmeet to beat but failed to capitalise on the chance in the 21st minute.

The Javier Toro-Bartholomew Ogbeche combine had a close look at the goal after the break but Chennaiyin’s defence was smart enough to thwart that move.

Vince Baretto was again in the thick of it, picking up a long ball from the midfield, but was unlucky to see a diving Gurmeet clear the ball to safety.

A serious foul by Vafa Hakhamneshi on Toro inside the box saw HFC earn a penalty to the delight of the sparse crowd in the 87th minute.

Ogbeche converted it and the match eventually ended in a draw.

The result:

Hyderabad FC 1 (Ogbeche 87-pen) drew with Chennaiyin FC 1 (Petar Sliskovic 57).