East Bengal faced Hyderabad FC at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim – still looking for their first win of the 2021/22 Indian Super League season. EB were held to a 1-1 draw as Amir Dervisevic scored first, but Bartholomew Ogbeche equalized for the Nizams fifteen minutes later.
After 20 minutes of calm – during which neither side was able to establish its superiority – EBFC were presented with a chance to take the lead. Chinglensana Singh had stepped out of his defense to foul Lalrinliana Hnamte in a dangerous position, and from the ensuing free-kick, Amir Dervisevic gave East Bengal the lead. The attacker’s effort was close to the goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani, but a run at the near post by Raju Gaikwad impaired his vision and, while he got a hand to it, the ball found its way to the back of the net.
Minutes later, Daniel Chukwu missed a glorious opportunity to put the Red and Gold Brigade two goals up. The forward, freed by Hnamte with a perfectly-timed reverse pass, shaped up to curl the ball around Kattimani from the left side of the box, but scuffed his shot badly instead.
35 minutes in, Ogbeche punished his compatriot by heading in an Aniket Jadhav cross – and restored parity. Five minutes after Hyderabad had scored, Mohammed Rafique rattled the crossbar at the other end with a powerful half-volley from distance.
Hyderabad attacked East Bengal down the flanks more frequently in the second half. Edu Garcia looked especially dangerous down the left, as he created two half-chances, back-to-back, soon after the restart. Manolo Diaz’s men defended the early onslaught well, forcing the Nizams to bring in some changes.
One of those brought on, Sahil Tavora, tested Bhattacharya from range near the end of the game. The custodian parried Tavora’s shot away but only as far as Javier Siverio, whose follow-up was poor. Ogbeche then had the opportunity to win the match for his side in the eighth minute of stoppage time from a set piece, but his header was too close to the goalkeeper.
Hyderabad climbed to second in the table despite the draw while East Bengal, still without a win, were left two points adrift at the bottom.
