ISL 2023-24: Hyderabad FC snatch late equalizer to deny 10-man Mumbai City FC victory

Mumbai City FC's spirited 10-man squad almost clinched victory, but Hyderabad FC's late equalizer resulted in a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Mumbai Football Arena, on Saturday.

The match took an unexpected turn in the 7th minute as the Islanders' goalkeeper, Phurba Lachenpa, was shown the first regulation-time red card of the season.

Hyderabad FC's Joe Knowles, came close to breaking the deadlock early on, capitalizing on the disarray in the opposition's defense. Lachenpa, in a desperate attempt to thwart Knowles, found himself outside the 18-yard box and had to resort to using his feet. The resulting foul left the referee with no choice but to send off Lachenpa, prompting Mumbai City's head coach, Des Buckingham, to replace Vikram Pratap Singh with Mohammed Nawaz.

Despite the setback, Mumbai City displayed the resilience of champions by quickly adapting to the one-man disadvantage. Their midfielders took on a more reserved role to stifle Hyderabad FC's skillful frontline and ensure they couldn't exploit their numerical advantage. Meanwhile, star attackers Bipin Singh and Greg Stewart continued their quest for the opening goal.

As the match entered its final 15 minutes, Stewart threaded a precise pass to Bipin, whose shot was thwarted by Gurmeet Singh. In an unexpected turn of events, Hyderabad FC's substitute, Manoj Mohammed, found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, unintentionally redirecting the ball into the net.

Mumbai City FC fought valiantly to deny Hyderabad FC a goal. However, the numerical advantage eventually favored the visitors, as Joe Knowles found the back of the net from a narrow angle, with the ball taking a deflection off Tiri in the 96th minute. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving fans eagerly anticipating what the rest of the ISL season has in store.