Jamshedpur FC on Monday beat Hyderabad FC 2-1 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex to climb to second place in the Indian Super League table.
Rei Tachikawa and Jordan Murray gave the home side a 2-0 lead before Cy Goddard scored the consolation goal for Hyderabad.
The match started tactically with both teams taking time to assess the opposition. In the ninth minute, Jamshedpur notched their first proper attack when Imran Khan sent in a delightful cross into the Hyderabad penalty box. However Mohammed Sanan could not get onto the end of the delivery.
The very same minute saw Hyderabad inspire their first move of the game too. Chunga Hmar played a through ball to Goddard and the latter’s cross fell into Lenny Rodrigues’ feet after a deflection from Pratik Chaudhari. Rodrigues however, shot it straight into Albino Gomes’ palm.
In the 29th minute, Jamshedpur earned their much-desired lead. Sanan crossed from the left which fell into Khan’s feet after a missed header from Alex Saji. Khan’s shot from an acute angle hit the post but Rei Tachikawa was there to turn the ball home.
Five minutes later, the Japanese midfielder could have added his second of the night. His fiery shot was successfully punched away by Arshdeep Singh. A minute later, Khalid Jamil’s side got another opportunity but Sanan’s attempt was inches away from target.
In the 41st minute, Hyderabad could have leveled the scoreline. Goddard put a delightful pass on the plate to Chunga whose curling attempt was touched out by the stretching hand of Gomes.
Just as when Hyderabad FC were trying to get back into the game, Murray doubled Jamshedpur’s advantage in the 44th minute. Sanan sent in a pitch-perfect through ball onto Murray, who calmly chipped it over an advancing Singh into the goal.
Thangboi Singto’s side started the second half on a high and they pulled one goal back in the 50th minute. Leander D’Cunha went for a long throw into the Jamshedpur penalty box, which was headed by Allan de Souza.
The Brazilian’s header was left by Chaudhari, expecting his custodian Gomes to get hold of the ball. But before Gomes to collect the same, Chunga got a touch to it before Goddard put the ball in.
Both teams brought in changes to yield their desirable outcome from the fixture. However, the attempts were either not on target or thwarted away successfully. In the end, Jamshedpur grabbed the crucial three points.
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