So, the day ends expectedly as Bengaluru FC win at home yet again. The next ISL match sees Mumbai City FC play host to NorthEast United FC on Friday. That match starts at 1930 IST. Until then, goodbye.
Awards!
Bengaluru FC collect the Club Award for winning the match this evening. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is given the Limitless Player of the Match Award. Dimas Delgado bags the Winning Pass of the Match Award. Mohammed Yasir takes home the Emerging Player of the Match Award. Nishu Kumar is the Hero of the Match.
Routine win
The Blues go marching on. With this 1-0 win, the hosts jump into second place with 28 points. While Hyderabad FC, stay rooted at the bottom with 6 points. The hosts went ahead with an early goal, Hyderabad FC had Stankovic's penalty saved in the 26th minute. The visitors piled on the pressure in the second half but to no avail. They specifically had Deshorn Brown and Francisco Borges to thank for missing a ton of chances in the second half. Hyderabad FC had chances of their own but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was again in inspiring form. His save from substitute, Liston Colaco's sliding attempt was the insurance policy on Bengaluru FC's slim lead. The young Indian goalkeeper had a very good game thanks to the penalty save and other crucial saves he made. Hyderabad FC will feel hard done and their season just hasn't taken off the way they would have wished. The Blues, however, remain in the echelons of the ISL table.
90'
Full time!
Bengaluru FC hang on to their one goal lead to win the match.
90'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Hyderabad FC : KILGALLON
90'
Massive save
Adil Khan, at the edge of the box, lays the ball on for the onrushing Liston Colaco. He skips past a challenge and runs onto the goal. He shoots and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu gets a hand on that and the ball goes out for a corner off the post. Nestor Jesus Benitez takes the subsequent corner, he delivers it to the far post and Marko Stankovic sends his volley wide.
90'
Injury time
4 minutes added on.
89'
Hits the post and misses
Double chance missed. Nishu Kumar from the left flank whips in a cross into the box. Laxmikant Kattimani tries to catch the ball but fumbles it close to the far post. Francisco Borges shoots and on the first attempt, the ball hits the upright and deflects back to him. His second shot is well wide of the other post. Unlucky!
87'
Final change for Bengaluru FC
Semboi Haokip replaces Suresh Wangjam.
86'
Substitution
Substitution - Bengaluru FC (In: SEMBOI, Out: SURESH)
84'
Off target!
Francisco Borges lays the ball on for the onrushing Nishu Kumar on the left side of the box. Kumar scuffs his shot wide. Poor miss.
79'
Final change - Hyderabad FC
Marcelo Pereira is replaced by Dimple Bhagat.
79'
Substitution
Substitution - Hyderabad FC (In: Dimple Bhagat, Out: MARCELINHO)
78'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Bengaluru FC : JUANAN
77'
Hits woodwork
Dimas Delgado takes the corner, Juanan flicks the ball at the near post. The ball reaches Francisco Borges who is waiting. He hits his first time volley straight to the upright and Hyderabad FC are still only 1-0 down.
75'
15 minutes to go
Hyderabad FC score the bulk of their goals in the final quarter of the game. Are we going to see the visitors score?
71'
Second change for Hyderabad FC
Liston Colaco replaces Asish Rai.
71'
Substitution
Substitution - Hyderabad FC (In: LISTON, Out: RAI)
70'
Yellow card
Adil Khan is booked for a rash challenge on Ashique Kuruniyan.
70'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Hyderabad FC : ADIL
68'
Off target
Can't break his duck of the season. Adil Khan plays the ball to Asish Rai in the middle of the park whose poor touch is capitalized by Francisco Borges. He plays a through ball for Kuruniyan, the sub, who shoots it early but his lob is inches wide of the upright.
65'
Change for both teams
Deshorn Brown is replaced by Francisco Borges, the former Barcelona trainee, plays on the wings and he was brought in the January transfer window. Hyderabad FC also make a change as Nestor Jesus Benitez comes on for Giles Barnes.
65'
Substitution
Substitution - Hyderabad FC (In: NESTOR G, Out: BARNES)
64'
Substitution
Substitution - Bengaluru FC (In: NILI A.W, Out: BROWN SR.)
59'
Yellow card
Mohammed Yasir is booked for pulling down Dimas Delgado.
59'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Hyderabad FC : YASIR
58'
End-to-end
Marcelo Pereira from the left flank puts a peach of a cross into the box. Mohammed Yasir at the near post glances the ball with his head but it's not on target. The ball rolls out for a goal kick. Thereafter, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's goal kick finds Sunil Chhetri on the left flank. The skipper wins his header and passes the ball to Deshorn Brown, who misses the target.
55'
Saved
Dimas Delgado plays a brilliant defense-splitting pass towards Deshorn Brown. He gets into the box and shoots but Laxmikant Kattimani is off his line to cut his angles down and make a save.
53'
First change
Ashique Kuruniyan comes on to replace Udanta Singh.
52'
Substitution
Substitution - Bengaluru FC (In: ASHIQUE, Out: UDANTA)
52'
Chance fizzles out
Juanan puts a brilliant long ball into the box from the left side of the field. Harmanjot Khabra makes his way in to the box and heads the ball to the center to keep the chance alive. Udanta Singh then shoots but his shot is half cleared.
49'
Free kick - Hyderabad FC
Bobo wins a free kick for the visitors as Juanan clatters the forward to the ground. However, Hyderabad FC do not threaten from the free kick.
46'
Play resumes
Hyderabad FC commence the second phase. They lose the ball in the middle of the park. Dimas Delgado takes a shot from distance as he sees the keeper off his line. Laxmikant Kattimani takes an easy catch as he gets into position in time.
Business as usual
The hosts continue performing like the defending champions are expected to. The Blues are 1-0 up at the end of the first half after Nishu Kumar's righted footed volley put them ahead in only 7 minutes. Thereafter, Hyderabad FC did really well to dust themselves off and get back into the game. A dominant spell for the visitors, culminated into them winning a spot kick in the 26th minute. However, Marko Stankovic was denied from 12 yards by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's brilliance in goal. He also saved Bobo's follow up from the penalty to keep the slim lead intact for the hosts. Bengaluru FC, then played on the counter and let Hyderabad FC have the ball, setting up chances on the break but the visitors stood firm. Hyderabad FC are renowned for scoring late goals, will the resolute Bengaluru FC hold firm? Find out in the second half.
45'
Half time
Bengaluru FC go into the break with a 1-0 lead.
45'
Yellow card
Giles Barnes is booked for a poor tackle from behind on Dimas Delgado.
45'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Hyderabad FC : BARNES
45'
Added time
2 minutes added on to the first half.
43'
Chhetri misses a chance
Udanta Singh gets the ball on the right flank, he runs into the box and cuts the ball back for Sunil Chhetri. The skipper can't sort his feet out in time and he ends up deflecting the ball. Chance missed.
40'
Poor corner
Marko Stankovic delivers from the corner into the box, the ball is blocked by a Bengaluru FC defenders at the near post. The danger is immediately cleared.
39'
On target
Paartalu receives the ball at the edge of the box, he lays it on for Deshorn Brow, who shoots it on target from a close range and Laxmikant Kattimani dives to his left for a save.
35'
Super save
Marko Stankovic plays a well-timed aerial ball to Marcelo Pereira on the left flank. The skipper runs into the box and from an acute angle, he shoots the ball on target. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu firmly with his right hand deflects the ball to Bobo in the middle of the box. The no. 9 then shoots but his shot is blocked by Albert Serran.
32'
Free kick - Hyderabad FC
Suresh Wangjam brings down Bobo in the middle of the park. Marcelo Pereira takes the subsequent free kick but puts it out for a goal kick.
28'
Yellow card
Harmanjot Khabra gets a yellow card for a push on Marcelo Pereira.
28'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Bengaluru FC : KHABRA
27'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Bengaluru FC : DIMAS
26'
Missed Penalty
Marko Stankovic steps up to the spot. He goes towards the left side of the goal and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu guesses it right. He dives and saves the ball. Bobo shoots from the follow-up and Sandhu saves it for a corner again. Marko Stankovic then takes the corner and plays it to too deep. The ball goes out for a goal kick.
23'
Penalty to Hyderabad FC
Marcelo Pereira goes to ground in the box as Suresh Wangjam brings him. The visitors have a chance to level.
22'
On target!
Well done. Mohammed Yasir gets the ball in the midfield. He beats an oncoming challenge and runs to the edge of the box and shoots. The strike is on target and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saves it.
20'
Speculative effort?
Asish Rai from the right wing cuts and unleashes an effort well wide of the goal. Marcelo Pereira had made an angled run, had Rai spotted him sooner, it would turn out to be a very smart through ball for his skipper.
16'
Blocked shot
Udanta Singh gets the ball close to the edge of the box on the right. He scampers into the box, beating his marker. His shot though is blocked by Sahil Panwar to safety.
12'
Miscontrolled
Erik Paartalu lobs an aerial pass to Sunil Chhetri on the left side of the Hyderabad FC box. The skipper fails to control the ball and it goes out for a Hyderabad FC goal kick.
7'
GGGGGOOOOAAAALLLL
Nishu Kumar drills it home. That's a very well worked set-piece, Dimas Delgado takes the corner from the right side. He spots Kumar running towards the box and plays a grounded pass to him. Nishu Kumar gets into the box and side-foots the ball first time into the back of the net. A brilliant shot and worthy of giving Bengaluru FC the lead.
7'
Goal
Goal - Bengaluru FC : NISHU
5'
Offside!
Marginally offside, Suresh Wangjam gets the ball on the left flank and he make his was to the byline. Running out of passing options in the box. He plays it back to Udanta Singh, whose return pass catches Wangjam in an offside position.
1'
Kick Off!
Bengaluru FC get us underway in the first half. The hosts keep possession well. And, we have a first shot on target as Sunil Chhetri shoots from distance. Laxmikant Kattimani saves it well.
Toss
The flip of the coin goes Hyderabad FC's way. Marcelo Pereira chooses to kick left to right.
National Anthem
The players have lined up either side of the referees as they stand in respect of the Indian National Anthem.
Hyderabad FC Playing XI
Laxmikant Kattimani (GK), Sahil Panwar, Matthew Kilgallon, Mohammed Yasir, Asish Rai, Adil Khan, Marko Stankovic, Nikhil Poojary, Marcelo Pereira (C), Giles Barnes, Bobo.
In what appears to be a complete mismatch on paper, Bengaluru FC will be hosting Hyderabad FC in Match 70 of this year's Indian Super League. The Blues have been in excellent form so far and their title defense is going strong. They will be high on confidence after their recent win against Odisha FC and would want to get back-to-back wins for the third time in this edition to claim the top spot on the points table. Bengaluru's offensive play has excelled beautifully and the new signing Deshorn Brown has also gelled without wasting any time. The presence of Sunil Chhetri, Erik Paartalu and Dimas Delgado offer stability to their game in the attacking third while at the back, they have been watertight on most occasions. Nili Perdomo has been signed in the January transfer window by the reigning champions. However, his participation in this match is unlikely. Nothing has worked for Hyderabad FC in their debut season at both ends of the pitch. They have been porous defensively and their forward line have only scored 14 goals. With nothing to lose now, the visitors will be under no pressure and they will want express themselves with the ball. Holding Mumbai City FC to a draw in their last match would have given Hyderabad FC some confidence and they would try their best to present a tough fight against the Blues. Let's see whether they manage to do that or not.