Kolkata: Reigning Indian Super League (ISL) champions Hyderabad FC (HFC) qualified for the quarter-finals of the 131st Durand Cup, blowing away Neroca FC 3-0.
Outstanding Ogbeche
Indian football may not have frequently witnessed the Nigerian Bartholomew Ogbeche’s skill in front of goal play on their fields. Defenders in India have been living in fear of him for the past few years because of his sense of presence, timing, and power inside the box as well as the calibre of his finishing. He contributed to all three goals on that particular day and scored two of them.
The first goal came early for the Nawabs after Akash Mishra,crossed back in, for Ogbeche. He took a strike on the turn with his left, towards goal, but it took a couple of deflections in the crowd and the loose ball fell invitingly for Joel Chianese to slot home from close.
𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙊 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙆𝙉𝙊𝘾𝙆𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙎 ✅💪
A brace from the man for every occasion aka Bart Ogbeche and a tidy finish from our no. 7️⃣ @Joel_Chianese takes us into the knockout round of the Durand Cup! #NFCHFC #DurandCup #HyderabadFC #మనహైదరాబాద్ #ہماراحیدرآباد 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/Z9k6euj8GJ
— Deccan Legion (@DeccanLegion) August 30, 2022
Thereafter the HFC midfield led by Borja Herrera began taking control of the game and chances were coming thick and fast for Hyderabad.Spaniard Borja Herrera played a quick one-two with Lalchungnunga Chhangte in the 17th minute, to deliver a cross to Ogbeche. The Nigerian made no mistake with the header.
In the 82nd minute, Hitesh Sharma found Ogbeche on the edge of the box and measured a right footer to beat keeper Soram Porei for the third time in the match.
Hyderabad FC – 3 (Chianese 3’ Ogbeche 17’ 82’) Neroca FC– 0
Champions FC Goa holds Bengaluru FC to a draw
The youngsters of FC Goa held Sunil Chhetri led Bengaluru FC (BFC) to an entertaining 2-2 draw. FC Goa came back in the second halk to keep it a draw. The Gaurs share points with FC Goa with Phrangki Buam and Lesly Rebello scoring to cancel out first half goals by Sunil Chhetri and N. Siva Sakthi.
The Blues dominated the game from the very first minute to have the majority of the possession in the first half. Bengaluru FC kept creating openings in the Gaur’s half and putting pressure on the youngsters. In the 24th minute, a curling free-kick from talisman Sunil Chhetri found the top right corner of the net. Another one as came as the ball from Bruno found Udanta who headed it across the six-yard box for N. Siva Sakthi to score the second.
The referee blows the whistle on a game of two halves here in Kolkata, where it ends all square between the Blues and FC Goa. #BFCFCG #WeAreBFC pic.twitter.com/eoTMoFD9AR
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 30, 2022
In the early minutes of the second-half, a weak header to the keeper by Rohit Kumar was poached by Buam, who rounded off keeper Amrit Gope, to finish with consummate ease.
Goa had their spirits lifted with even more meaningful attacks. The second goal came in 63rd minute from a darting run by Vasim Inamdar. Vasim pushed the ball ahead for Captain Lesley Rebello to finish from in-between the keeper’s legs.
Bengaluru FC – 2 (Chhetri 24’, Sivasakhti 26’) FC Goa – 2 (F.Buam 53’, Lesly 64’)
