Bartholomew Ogbeche (in blue) of Odisha FC and Adil Kha of East Bengal vie for the ball during an ISL match in Vasco on Monday.
Highlight
- Hyderabad top the table with 20 points, ahead of Kerala Blasters FC in goal difference
- Marcelo Ribeiro made his second half debut for East Bengal from the bench
- East Bengal awaits a tough test from ATK Mohun Bagan in Margao’s Kolkata derby on Saturday
Bartholomew Ogbeche’s hat-trick helped Hyderabad FC to top the Indian Super League standings with a 4-0 win over SC East Bengal at the Tilak Maidan Stadium here on Monday.
Ogbeche’s triple strike (21st, 44th, 74th minutes) extended his lead in the goal-scoring charts. Aniket Jadhav (45+1) also joined the scoresheet for Nizam. The result took them top of the table with 20 points, ahead of Kerala Blasters FC on goal difference.
Joao Victor tested Arindam Bhattacharjee with a free-kick early in the game after a strong start from the Nizams. The goalkeeper was called into action a few more times after saves from Souvik Chakraborty and Aniket Jadhav.
However, the custodian could not keep the ball out for long as a header from Bartholomew Ogbeche escaped his grip and entered the net for the first goal. SC East Bengal got the better of themselves after the drinks break in the first half. They almost leveled, but a save from Laxmikant Kattimani and a goal-line clearance from Joao kept Hyderabad’s lead.
In the 41st minute, HFC doubled the lead after a comedy of errors by the SCEB defense allowed Ogbeche to pass the goalkeeper and score with ease. After this, Aniket Jadhav added to the difficulties by scoring the third goal after a few minutes. His low shot from the left edge got to the bottom right corner and the Nizam went into the halftime break with a three-goal advantage.
Marcelo Ribeiro made his debut from the bench in the second half as the Red and Gold Brigade tried to find a breakthrough. However, it was HFC who scored the fourth goal as Ogbeche finally secured his first hat-trick of the season in the 75th minute. Javier Siverio’s shot went out of the way for the Nigerian, who made no mistake when it hit the back of the net.
SCEB was awarded a penalty after Ribeiro was trapped inside the box but the spot-kick was well saved by Kattimani, who had correctly guessed a Franzo Press effort. The Nizam maintained their clean sheet for the rest of the match and scored a crucial three points.
Hyderabad FC will take on Odisha FC in their next match on Thursday, while SC East Bengal await a tough test against ATK Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata derby in Margao on Saturday.
(PTI reports)
,