ISL: Jamshedpur FC secure narrow 3-2 win vs Hyderabad

Jamshedpur FC grabbed a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Hyderabad FC in an entertaining Indian Super League (ISL) match at the GMC Balayogi Stadium on Saturday. Ritwik Das (22nd minute), Jay Emmanuel Thomas (27th, penalty) and Daniel Chukwu (29th) scored in the space of 10 minutes to edge out Hyderabad for whom Bartholomew Ogbeche (12th, 79th) scored a brace, while Joao Victor missed a penalty.

Hyderabad FC manager Manolo Marquez rang in changes, naming debutant Lalbiakhlua Jongte in the goal and an all-Indian backline. His side started the game in fine fashion and took the lead through a Bart Ogbeche header from a Borja Herrera corner.

But Ritwik Das’ header and a penalty decision for Jamshedpur in the space of five minutes changed the game. Jay Thomas converted the penalty before before Chukwu beat Nim Dorjee Tamang and dinked one over Biaka to give Jamshedpur a two-goal lead.

The second half came to life after Eli Sabia was sent off for pulling Javi Siverio down. This allowed Hyderabad to push for a goal and they almost found it when Abdul Rabeeh’s cross was handled inside the box and Hyderabad were awarded a penalty. However, Joao Victor, who came off the bench for his first outing in over a month, failed to beat Vishal Yadav from the spot. Hyderabad did find a goal through Ogbeche’s strike late in the game, and could have taken all three points with a late goal.

Javi Siverio got a chance just before the final whistle, but his header was straight at the keeper as Hyderabad failed to take their chances and fell to a narrow defeat. The win keeps Hyderabad on 39 points from 19 games, as they now gear up for the final league clash against Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on February 26.