FULL-TIME: CHENNAIYIN FC 3-1 HYDERABAD FC
90+3' Marcelinho is booked by the referee for an unnecessary challenge on Valskis. Marcelinho tries to do all by himself as he pulls the trigger from the centre of the pitch after beating Thapa. But the ball flies over the crossbar.
90' Adil Khan takes a heavy touch on the right as Eli Sabia wins the ball back. Chennaiyin counters as Kamaljit comes off his line as Valskis betas the keeper and tries to pass it far post but Poojary puts in a vital block to deny the striker a hat-trick.
88' GOAL HYDERABAD! A brilliant cross from Stankovic allows Marcelinho to sneak between the centre backs and smash home from outside the box. It might not be enough for Hyderabad.
87' Asish Rai brings down Jerry on the right as Vishal Kaith has all the time in the world to take the free kick.
85' Marcelinho finds Barnes on the left with a cross field pass but the forward loses the ball to Vanspaul. Asish Rai chests down a cross from Stankovic but the linesman puts his flag up.
83' Chhangte makes space on the right and tries to go for the goal from a tight angle. Chennaiyin takes a short corner as Crivellaro goes for the glory but smashes it into the sidenetting.
81' Stankovic splits open the Chennaiyin defence as Asish Rai is sent flying into the air by Goian's challenge. The referee says the centre back was the first to the ball but it looks as if the Chennaiyin captain caught the man first.
79' Mohammed Yasir gives away the ball in the final third as Chennaiyin counters Crivellaro gets to the byline unchallenged and tries to cross across the goal mouth but Kamaljit is not troubled.
77' An accurate cross into the box by Asish Rai strikes Marcelinho on the shoulder as Vishal Kaith watches the ball slowly sail over the byline.
74' Chennaiyin has closed out the wide areas as Hyderabad goes backwards to try and find a way through the middle as Kilgallon loses the ball in open space for a Chennaiyin throw-in.
72' Nestor is taken off as Brown sends in Laldanmawia Ralte while Giles Barnes comes on for Rohit Kumar.
69' It will take a miracle for Hyderabad to turn this match around. The defence has given away the ball in dangerous areas while Asish Rai's howler in the build up to the first goal underlines the amount of work Phil Brown needs to do to improve the team.
65' SECOND FOR VALSKIS! Hyderabad defence messes up a throw-in in a dangerous position as Crivellaro cuts it back brilliantly for Valskis to finish off at the far post. Jerry is the initiator of the move after he wins the ball on the left.
63' Bobo limps off the pitch in what looks like an ankle issue as Mohammed Yasir replaces him in the middle.
61' Chennaiyin wins a free kick on the left as Crivellaro whips in a delivery at the far post for Schembri. However, Poojary wins the header. Crivellaro notices Kamaljit slightly off his line and tries to find the net from the centre but the Hyderabad keeper collects it comfortably.
58' Nestor chases a through ball from Bobo and furious at the linesman after he is flagged offside. Adil Khan tries an acrobatic volley off a Stankovic cross as he catches Vanspaul on the side of the head.
56' Schembri receives a lofted pass from Crivellaro but manages to shoot it wide despite having space ahead of him to create an angle to beat Kamaljit.
54' Marcelinho does well to bring down a diagonal pass from Kilgallon, but only manages to blast it over the goal post.
53' Shot! Marcelinho races off towards the byline after receiving a pass from Bobo and pulls the trigger from a tight angle as Kaith gets a hand to it for Jerry to clear the lines.
52' Germanpreet goes into the referee's book after he clips Nestor outside the Hyderabad box. The home team needs to up its game to force Chennaiyin on the back foot.
50' Bobo wins the header from the corner as the ball falls for Nestor who shoots through a cluster of white shirts as Kaith collects the ball comfortably.
48' Hyderabad counters after Gurtej wins the ball in his own half. Nestor and Marcelinho pulls the trigger from close range but Eli Sabia blocks it for a corner.
46' Second half begins! Nestor tries to chase a cross field pass on the left but misses the ball as Chennaiyin regains possession.
HALF-TIME: HYDERABAD FC 0-2 CHENNAIYIN FC
45' Hyderabad players look down after two big mistakes gifted away goals to Chennaiyin. There is no added time to the first half as the referee blows the whistle.
43' VALSKIS WITH A STUNNER! Another mistake from the entire Hyderabad backline allows Schembri to cut in from the right and pass it to Valskis at the left who thumps the ball into the net from the edge of the box.
41' GOAL CHENNAIYIN! Horrendous defending from Asish Rai. The right back plays a back pass straight to Valskis who runs at the goalkeeper and squares off a pass towards Crivellaro, who puts it in the back of the net.
38' Gurtej's recklessness could work against Hyderabad as he nudges Valskis in the back in order to win a long ball. The referee lets the midfielder go with a warning.
36' Asish Rai sends a dangerous cross into the box as Bobo, with his back towards the goal, tries to lift the ball over to Schembri which falls for Vanspaul and Vishal Kaith calmly collects the ball.
34' Nikhil Poojary is unable to turn around Germanpreet as Chennaiyin wins a throw-in. Owen Coyle looks exasperated on the touchline as his counterpart Phil Brown is out of the hut as he signals towards his players to move the ball faster.
32' The intensity of the game has come down a bit as none of the teams are unable to keep the ball in play while goalscoring opportunities have dried up for Hyderabad after a bright spell on the ball.
30' Save! Kamaljit makes a good save after the Crivellaro waltzes into the box unmarked and unleashes a ferocious shot at the far post.
27' Marcelinho and Germanpreet tussle for the ball in the centre as the Hyderabad striker goes down in the centre. However, the resultant free kick yields a goal kick for Vishal Kaith after Marcelinho hits over the crossbar.
25' Valskis chests a pass into the Crivellaro's path who tries to hit it on the volley and misses it completely. Adil Khan mops up the loose ball.
23' Shot! A terrible pass in the final third by Schembri gives the ball away to Bobo who curls the ball towards the far post but Vishal Kaith dives to his left to parry away the danger.
22' Chennaiyin gets a shot away as Chhangte gets to the byline and squares off a pass towards Schembri at the back post, but Kamaljit gets in the way to collect the ball.
21' Hyderabad slowly finding its way into the match as Asish Rai sends a dangerous crosses into the box which is headed down by Bobo, but Eli Sabia hacks the ball away to safety.
19' Wide! Nestor drops between the Chennaiyin centre back and unleashes a stinging drive from outside the box after being laid on by Marcelinho. The shot goes inches wide of the bottom right corner.
18' The referee books Marko Stankovic after he brings down Thapa in the centre. The midfielder will miss the next match as this is his fourth yellow card of the season.
16' It has been a sloppy start to the game from Hyderabad as it has failed to keep the ball for a sustained period of time. Chennaiyin, which is yet to settle down, has two shots on the target.
14' Gurtej escapes with a warning following a cynical tackle on Valskis. Vanspaul chases a long ball and plays it to Crivellaro who plays a one-two with Valskis but is hesitates before taking the shot and ball rolls out for a goal kick.
12' Marcelinho tries to curls the ball towards the near post but hits over the bar. Gurtej gives away a throw-in near the half line as he tries to win a header from Chennaiyin's goal kick.
10' A slick passing move from Hyderabad is broken down by Germanpreet who brings down Marcelinho outside the box.
8' Schembri races off to the corner on the right and cuts a pass back to Vanspaul who crosses it into the box which does not trouble Kamaljit.
6' Close! Schembri escapes the off-side trap and gets on the end of a Chhangte pass. The forward tries to lob it over Kamaljit Singh, who palms it away. Chhangte gets into the box unmarked and pulls the trigger drawing a low save from Kamaljit.
4' Hyderabad wastes a chance from a corner as Rohit Kumar wins the ball in the centre and pass it to Marcelinho who floats the ball towards the far post which is too far for Bobo.
2' Asish Rai cramps up his run on the right and Chennaiyin wins back the ball. Bobo gets it back for the host but Jerry clears it over the line for the first corner kick of the match.
1' Here we go! Chennaiyin begins the proceedings from left to right. Vanspaul hits a diagonal ball looking for Valskis in the centre, but the linesman puts his flag up.
The players are out on the field for the Indian national anthem. Few more minutes to kick off...
What's at stake?
Chennaiyin, ninth in the table, will climb to seventh if it wins the match on Friday while a draw will not see a change in position for either of the teams. Hyderabad will stay rooted to the bottom if it manages to beat Chennaiyin.
Lineups
Recap: Three goals were scored in the stoppage time last time the teams clashed
Our correspondent V.V. Subrahmanyam previews the match in Hyderabad
Two struggling sides are up against each other as Hyderabad FC pits its wits against Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League here on Friday.
Hyderabad is at the bottom of the table with five points from 11 matches and is in dire need of a win. Chennaiyin, placed a spot above Hyderabad with nine points from 10 games, is equally desperate for the three points on offer.
The home side has had a forgettable debut season in the ISL so far. It has just one win to its name and has the worst defensive record in the league, having shipped in 26 goals already. Hyderabad is also yet to keep a clean sheet.
However, Hyderabad head coach Phil Brown still oozes confidence as his team takes on former champion, Chennaiyin FC at the GMC Balayogi Stadium.
“Yes, we have to win our the home games to give ourselves a chance of staying in contention in the league. And, for that we need to show the desired consistency and arrest the disturbing trend of losing some closes matches which we could have won,” says Brown ahead of the match.
“It is disappointing that we will lose services of Rafael Gomez (injured in the last game) and unfortunate that he will be out of action for a couple of weeks,” he said to a query. “There is no thought of any replacement to him for sure,” he added.
“It is imperative for us to put in the kind of performance which should bring cheer to the splendid support we have been receiving, especially for all the home games,” the Hyderabad coach said.
“There will be pressure but we have to keep working hard to turn it on,” he says.
“I must say with a sense of pride that the boys are still giving off their best and we hope for the turn-around in fortunes tomorrow with an improved display,” Brown said.
For his part, two-time champion Chennaiyin coach, Owen Coyle, who interestingly played under Phil Brown back home in UK League, says the biggest challenge for his team will be consistency after two consecutive losses against FC Goa and Odisha FC.
“We badly need back-to-back wins to push ourselves closer to the top four in the league and I am confident my boys will come up with the kind of performances that are expected of them,” he said.
“We have to do justice to our fans, franchisee owners by being consistent in every match,” Coyle concluded.
But, the biggest concern for both the teams is the number of goals conceded - 26 by Hyderabad and 18 by Chennaiyin.
When and where to watch?
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar app and broadcast on Star Sports network from 7.30 pm onwards.
Comments
SHARE