ISL: Hyderabad demolish Bengaluru 3-0

When substitute Joel Chianese stroked the ball gently into the net at the stroke of 90 minutes, it was just a confirmation of the chasm that was evident on the field.

Hyderabad FC played like a team challenging for the title while Bengaluru FC looked a pale shadow of their former glorious selves.

The 3-0 win for Hyderabad took them to the top of the Indian Super League table. As for Bengaluru, sitting eighth, the nine-point gap to the playoff spot looks near unclosable.

If the first encounter between the two sides had ended in a 1-0 win for Hyderabad, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Friday, the result was more emphatic.

Bartholomew Ogbeche opened the scoring with a well-worked freekick before an unfortunate own goal from Sandesh Jhingan left the visitors leading 2-0 at the break. While Bengaluru played with more intensity and purpose - driven on by their new signing Pable Perez - in the second half, it was nothing HFC could not ride out. In fact Ogbeche hit the upright before Chinese put the exclamation point at the end.

Over the season there were instances when Bengaluru were unlucky or the game turned on a single error. But here they were second best. The visitors did not dominate possession or play umpteen passes but they were efficient, clinical and in control - hallmark of champions.

Which they are.

The opener came in the 26th minute from a freekick. Placed just outside the box, the trio of Halicharan Narzary, Borja Herrera and Ogbeche smartly touched the ball to each other to lure in the Bengaluru rusher and switch the angle. With the defence a bit out of shape and the ball shifted to Ogbeche’s favoured right foot, he arrowed it into the corner.

The visitors doubled their lead a minute before the break. Parag Shrivas was caught sleeping in possession and quick transition saw Narzary free on the left flank, as he had been all through the first half, and the Indian winger hung the ball up in the air for Ogbeche to muscle a header on goal which went in off Sandesh Jhingan’s desperate lunge.

Bengaluru had their chances, perhaps not the most presentable ones, but when they came, they failed to capitalise on them. Parag heading off target from a corner and Sunil Chhetri had an effort from a tight angle saved by the goalkeeper at the stroke of halftime. The story of their season.