ISL 2019-20: Last gasp equaliser from Robin Singh hands Hyderabad a point against Benagluru FC

Hyderabad FC 1-0 churned out a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Bengaluru FC at the Gachhibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday evening. Sunil Chhetri (2′) netted early to put his side in front but a goal late in stoppage time from Robin Singh denied the reigning champions from picking p full three points.

Phil Brown made two alterations to the starting line-up that went down 2-1 to Chennaiyin FC as Sahil Panwar and Laldanmawia Ralte started the game relegating Rohit Kumar and Robin to the bench. 

Whereas, Carles Cuadrat chose to stick to the same line-up that got the better of Kerala Blasters at their own backyard.

The Blues drew first blood within minutes of kick-off taking advantage of some horrendous defending by Hyderabad FC’s backline. Goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh made a poor clearance and although it did fall for Ralte, the former East Bengal winger misplaced his pass to Gurtej Singh. Chhetri was quick to react and intercept the pass before slotting it past Kamaljit. 

Bengaluru continued to dominate proceedings and Brown’s men looked at their wits end in their attempts to weather the early storm. 

In the 13th minute, Bengaluru should have been awarded a penalty when Gurtej used his hand to block a shot from Harmanjot Singh Khabra, but the referee was not convinced enough to point to the spot. 

The travelling team was passing the ball around with purpose and poise and they once again broke Hyderabad’s defence in the 24th minute, but Raphael Augusto shot wide after he was set up by Chhetri with a cheeky back-heel. 

Hyderabad started making forays into their attacking third towards the end of the first half, but some resolute defending from Juanan at the back kept the hosts at bay. 

The second half resumed in the same vein as Hyderbad almost gave a second succumbing to Bengaluru’s high press. But Gurtej and Kilgallon put their bodies on the line to deny the likes of Augusto and Chhetri. Things got worse for Brown when Panwar was shown a straight red after he the defender lunged in with a tackle from behind after Udanata showed him a clean pair of heels and was through on goal. 

Bengaluru continued to create waves of attacks throughout the second half and they were rightly punished for not being clinical to get an insurance goal. 

Robin was introduced for the final 10 minutes in search of an equaliser and the forward did not disappoint. Stankovic floated a hopeful long ball on the right to Ashis Rai who cut inside and took a shot at goal. Gurpreet got down at the nick of time and palmed it away but the rebound fell for the lanky striker who poked the ball into the net from handshaking distance of the goal.  

With this draw, Bengaluru move on 10 points and will get back in action on December 4 against Odisha FC away from home. On the other hand, Hyderabad continue to be at the bottom of the table even after snatching an unlikely point. They will look to get back to winning ways again on December 8 when they host FC Goa.