Hyderabad: Bartholomew Ogbeche’s 86th minute winner guided Hyderabad FC to defeat ATK Mohun Bagan 1-0 in the Indian Super League (ISL) final league match held at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Ogbeche scored his eighth goal of the season, as Hyderabad registered three points and moved to 39 points from 18 games. This victory confirmed second-place on the leaderboard.
Hyderabad started the game on the front foot, with Javi Siverio’s strength and Joel Chianese’s pace causing the Mariners to drop deep early in the game. But neither team managed to carve out clear chances, as both goal keepers were fairly untroubled for the first 45 minutes.
But after the break, Manolo’s men stepped on the gas and managed to win the ball back in dangerous areas. Hyderabad won free-kicks, and started to put the ATKMB defence under pressure, but it was Ogbeche, who came off the bench, that sealed the deal for HFC.
The ISL’s leading goalscorer added another to his tally, as he dummied past Slavko Damjanovic and found the corner to beat Vishal Kaith in the 86th minute.
The likes of Akash Mishra, Nikhil Poojary, Chinglensana Konsham and Odei Onaindia stuck to their task and managed to frustrate the visitors for most of the game. Gurmeet Singh had a couple of crucial saves to make, as Hyderabad held on to their clean sheet and took home all three points.
Hyderabad FC will take on Jamshedpur FC at the Gachibowli Stadium on February 18.