FC Goa ensured its head coach Manolo Marquez could celebrate his 100th match as an ISL coach after a 2-0 win over his former side Hyderabad FC (HFC) at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Wednesday.
Goa’s win also meant Hyderabad’s dismal run at home continued since February 2023, where it has not won in 17 games.
The Gaurs dominated the first 15 minutes and made quite a few forays into the rival citadel with Ayush Dev Chhetri, Udanta Singh and Armando Sadiku working in tandem.
However, the HFC defence was equal to the task and even changed gears, courtesy of some smart moves by Edmilson Correia and Ramhlunchhunga. Substitutes Abhijit and Cy Goddard came close to scoring but lacked the finishing touch.
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It was Marquez’s Goa which shot into the lead thanks to a superb effort by Mohammad Yasir. He sprinted down the right flank and essayed a beautiful through ball to Udanta, who dodged past a couple of defenders and wrong-footed HFC goalkeeper Lalbiakhlua Jongte in the 33rd minute with a well-taken shot.
In the 44th minute, Goa made it 2-0 after an opportunistic finish by Iker Guarrotxena, who latched on to a swift, short pass from Sadiku and then saw his left-footer deflect off Stefan Sapic into the goal to the dismay of the HFC camp.
HFC started the second-half on the offensive. Sourav K shot from close range, but the Goa custodian kept it out with an excellent diving save in the 59th minute.
Hyderabad tried to make forays into the final third, but Goa maintained a rock-solid defence to thwart any danger.
The win takes Goa to third place with 18 points from 10 matches, while Hyderabad languishes at 11th with just seven points from the same number of outings.
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