ISL 2024-25: Andrey Alba’s brace gives Hyderabad 2-1 win over Kerala Blasters

Latest update:November 07, 2024 11:38 PM IST

Kerala Blasters are in hibernation after three consecutive defeats.

HFC’s Andrey Alba celebrates scoring the second goal against KBFC during the match held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kerala on November 7, 2024.

Hyderabad FC engineered a sensational comeback as they thrashed Kerala Blasters 2-1 in an Indian Super League match on Thursday.

The hosts started the game brightly and earned the lead thanks to Jesus Jimenez, but Andrei Alba’s brace allowed the visitors to claim their second win of the season.

Kerala Blasters are in hibernation after three consecutive defeats.

With Kwame Peprah suspended and Noah Sadaoui not fully fit to start, Mikael Stare turned to his youth for this match. He decided to start the game with two exciting talents in Mohammed Amen and Koru Singh on both flanks and the strikers repaid their coach with a sensational start.

Amen was the driving force for the hosts in the first quarter as his direct approach and relentless movement caused problems for the Hyderabad back line.

Meanwhile, the real damage was done by Koru Singh, the youngest player (17 years, 340 days) to feature in the ISL for Kerala Blasters and the third youngest player overall.

The winger showed great maturity on the counter-attack, losing his marker with some trickery before finding striker Jimenez in the box with a lovely low cross.

As the Spaniard did the rest to give his team the lead in the 13th minute, Coru became the youngest player to provide an assist in the competition.

Jimenez later tormented the Hyderabad defense again as he combined with Adrian Luna to fire the ball into the back of the net but was ruled offside.

Just after the break, Amen’s brilliant start to the game was cut short by injury as he limped off the field.

While Kerala Blasters retained the lion’s share of possession, Hyderabad waited for their opportunity. It finally came in the 43rd minute when Chhunga Hmar made a blistering run forward from the left flank before playing Parag Srivas in space. The Defender got the better of Ruiva Hormipam and took on Andrei Alba in space.

The Brazilian, unmarked on the edge of the penalty area, slotted the ball home to restore equality just before the break.

In the second half, both coaches relied on foreign reinforcements: Stare brought on Noah and Thangboy Singto turned to Edmilson Correia.

Correia had almost instant success as he ran past the Kerala Blasters back line before being saved by Som Kumar.

However, the visitors took the lead in the 70th minute, completely against the run of play, when Alba completed his brace by beating Som Kumar from the penalty spot. Hyderabad FC were awarded a penalty after a counter-attack when the referee pointed to the spot after Hormipam’s handball.

In the last 10 minutes of the game, the hosts tried to level the score, but Hyderabad held on and scored maximum points.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news feed – PTI)