A spirited Hyderabad FC spoiled Chennaiyin FC’s plans of putting itself in a better position in the play-off race with a 1-0 victory, its first in this edition of the Indian Super League, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
Sajad Parray found the net for the visitor in the 90th minute. Lalchhanhima Sailo’s free-kick into the box was not properly dealt with by the CFC defenders, and Parray was quick to pounce on the chance.
Owen Coyle’s side is now 11th on the points table with 18 points from 18 games. Thangboi Singto’s team, which did not have any foreigners in its match-day squad, remains 12th with eight points from 19 outings. The first half saw the host create many chances but failing to find the finishing touch to bulge the net.
The first big opportunity came through Rafael Crivellaro’s through ball to Ninthoinganba Meetei, who could only find the side netting. Farukh Choudhary rattled the post in the 24th minute after receiving a short pass from Vincy Barretto. The host also had a penalty shout when Vincy was tackled by Jeremy Zohminghlua.
HFC had its fair share of chances on either side of the half-time break.
Abdul Rabeeh’s strong header from the box beat Debjit Majumder, hit the woodwork, and fell right on the goal line. Joseph Sunny, too, hit the far post after chancing upon a ball in front of the goal.
Red card
Hyderabad was down to 10 men after M. Rafi was given a second yellow card in the dying minutes, but it was all too late for Chennaiyin.
The result: Chennaiyin FC 0 lost to Hyderabad FC 1 (Parray 90).
