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Hyderabad FC and East Bengal FC played out a 1-1 draw at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 on Saturday.
Hyderabad FC made the first move as the proceedings kicked off, with Isaac Vanmalsawma and Joseph Sunny linking up in the final third after two minutes to test the East Bengal FC defense. Isaac's pass was laid out for Joseph outside the box, but instead of continuing the build-up, he attempted a shot from a distance that was blocked in time. The home side kept the pressure on in the following minutes, forcing Hijazi Maher to concede a corner in the 11th minute. From that set-piece, Manoj Mohammad attempted an aerial effort from the center of the 18-yard box, but it missed the target on the right side. The match then became a guarded affair, with neither team able to create clear-cut chances. There were several corners and free-kicks won, but nothing substantial came out of those moves, until Edmilson Correia dazzled on the left side of the 18-yard box in the 41st minute. After receiving a pass from Isaac, he adjusted his movement and took a shot that narrowly missed the woodwork on the right side. Two minutes into the second half, Correia sprang into action again, receiving a lateral delivery from Cy Goddard in the center of the box. Despite being close to goal, he shot off target on the right side. It took a fantastic free-kick from Cleiton Silva in the 64th minute to break the deadlock. Dimitrios Diamantakos won a foul, and Silva stepped up to deliver an impressive shot that smashed the crossbar. Jeakson Singh was quick to pounce on the rebound, bundling it into the center of the net to give the visitors the lead, arguably against the run of play. Hyderabad FC dug deep to find an equalizer. Eventually, it was a moment of quick thinking from Correia in the 90th minute that brought his side back into the game. After fresh substitutions in the 85th minute, Lenny Rodrigues and Devendra Murgaonkar added energy to the attack. Murgaonkar made an instant impact with a shot from outside the box, set up by Abdul Rabeeh. Although it didn't land on target, it showed the home side's growing offensive pressure. Correia then passed the ball to Manoj on the left side of the box during a quick attacking move. Manoj kept his composure and dispatched the ball into the bottom right corner, rescuing a point for his team. (ANI)
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