ISL champions Hyderabad FC start Durand Cup campaign with dominating win over TRAU
Indian Super League champions Hyderabad FC began their Durand Cup campaign with a dominating 2-0 win over local side Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC at the Khuman Lampak Stadium here on Monday.
This was TRAU’s second successive loss in the tournament.
Halicharan Narzary (27th) and Borja Herrera (52nd) scored for Hyderabad in group C match.
TRAU, who were coming into the match after a 1-3 loss to local rivals NEROCA in their opening game, started the brighter of the two sides. They controlled possession and looked for openings in the Hyderabad defence. The ISL champions took a while to settle down in the match.
Moments from the Second Half! 🖼️#TRAUHFC ⚔️#KLS 🏟️#DurandCup 🏆#IndianOilDurandCup 🏆#DurandCup2022 🏆#131stIndianOilDurandCup 🏆#IndianFootballForwardTogether 🤝#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/XU5JCnEjv4
— Durand Cup (@thedurandcup) August 22, 2022
Hyderabad gained in confidence as the match wore on and started to create chances.
They took the lead in the 27th minute through a quality Halicharan Narzaray strike. It was Spaniard Borja’s pressing that forced an error from the TRAU midfield and the loose ball was latched on to Halicharan, who curled a spectacular shot from a dance into the top right corner.
Hyderabad slowed down the game after the goal but there was a lack of intention from the home side to press for the equaliser.
Hyderabad took complete control of the proceedings in the second half, as they continued to play the attractive football that took them to the ISL summit last season.
!@HydFCOfficial begins their journey in the competition with a comfortable victory over @officialtraufc. Thanks for joining us!#TRAU 0-2 #HFC#TRAUHFC ⚔️#KLS 🏟️#DurandCup 🏆#IndianOilDurandCup 🏆#DurandCup2022 🏆#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/l1nnwWjco5
— Durand Cup (@thedurandcup) August 22, 2022
The second goal also came through a screamer, in the 52nd minute, through Borja, who was rightly declared the Man of the Match. Mohammed Yasir found him from the right, and the Spaniard took a sublime first touch to produce a left-footed scorcher into the top corner.
Hyderabad continued to maintain total control of the game and created a host of chances but could not convert them. They hit the bar at least twice without luck.
Hyderabad coach Manolo Marquez brought on his regulars for the last half hour which totally shut down the game for TRAU.
