Liston Colaco came off the bench to score a match-winning brace and power Hyderabad FC to a 4-2 win over NorthEast United FC in their Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) clash at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Friday.
The victory, Hyderabad's fourth of the season, saw it dislodge FC Goa to claim the third spot on the table. NorthEast United, winless in six games, remains seventh.
Match Report|
From Colaco's brace to Hyderabad's climb up the ladder, here are the key talking points from the NorthEast United FC vs Hyderabad FC clash.
Liston continues to trouble NorthEast United
Liston has scored four goals in his ISL career and all four have come against the same opposition - NorthEast United FC. The 22-year-old scored a brace against the side in Hyderabad's last game in the previous season.
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The Goan came off the bench in the 64th minute and struck his first goal 21 minutes later. He first evaded Rochharzela's tackle, then dropped his shoulder to get past Gurjinder Kumar and dribbled away from Khassa Camara before curling it past 'keeper Subhasish Roy.
Liston netted his second goal in the fourth minute of added time when he latched on to Aridane Santana's pass and beat Roy with ease.
He now has the distinction of creating the most goal contributions as a substitute in ISL 2020-21 -- four.
Here's what Liston said post the game: "This goal is something I have been trying in training but it wasn't coming off. We scored important goals and it was an important win for us to continue."
Chianese impresses
Joel Chianese struck his second goal in as many games. After being injured for a large part of Hyderabad's opening games, the Australian has started in the last three games.
Highlights| NEUFC vs HFC
He was a livewire in Hyderabad's attack on Friday as he did the hard work to set up Santana for the opener. Chianese picked up the ball on the right before cutting inside the byline past Mashoor Shereef and Gurjinder to lay it off for Santana to score his sixth goal of the season.
He then got on the scoresheet with a fantastic goal in the 36th minute. He picked up Akash Mishra’s ball on the left and stormed into the box, racing past four defenders, before slotting it home.
NorthEast's winless run continues
The Highlanders' slump continues as the side is now winless in six games. Gerard Nus' side began the season in fine fashion and was uneaten in its six opening games but has fallen off the radar since. The side's last win came over a month ago when it beat SC East Bengal 2-0.
NorthEast United has created chances aplenty, but its profligacy in the final third has hurt its fortunes. Against Hyderabad, the side had nine shots on target but managed to score only twice. It had a host of other chances as well, such as Idrissa Sylla's free header in the 13th minute and Luis Machado's chance 30 seconds into the second half, which were fired off target.
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"We wanted to win. We had a plan on how to defend and attack but we weren't good enough. Good spirit to make a comeback and good timing with the comeback. Same against Odisha, we didn't get enough goals despite creating chances. We have to keep working and be clinical to score goals. That's the hardest thing to do in football," said Nus after the match.
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