Hyderabad FC vs Odisha FC: Five talking points from the ISL match

Manuel Marquez's Hyderabad FC routed Kiko Ramirez's Odisha FC in the Indian Super League 2021-22. The scoreboard read 6-1 in the favour of the Nizams' at full time.

Hyderabad FC bagged an opener as early as eight-minute through a howler from Hector Rodas. The affair was cancelled soon enough when a Juanan own-goal gave Odisha FC the equalizer. Bartholomew Ogbeche soon returned the Nizams the lead from a corner taken by Edu Garcia just a few minutes before going into the break.

Coming back, Edu Garcia made a fantastic run, slotting it past the custodian. He doubled the lead in the process in the 54th minute. Six minutes later Ogbeche found his second. In about five minutes from coming in, super-sub Siverio found his name on the scoresheet. The final nail to the coffin was put by Joel Chianese.

With the win Hyderabad FC reach out for the second spot in the table, displacing Jamshedpur FC. While Odisha FC sit at the seventh.

Although the affair looked highly one-sided, we at The Bridge managed to pick out some highlighting points from the game.

Bartholomew Ogbeche continuous to impress

Bagging a brace Bartholomew Ogbeche dropped a 10/10 performance against the Kalinga Warriors. Playing 68 minutes in the game, Ogbeche took five shots putting three past the keeper. He even maintained a passing accuracy of 89% throughout the game.

Personally, Ogbeche took his statistics up to another level with his performance tonight. He is now the frontrunner in the race for the Golden Boot followed by Mumbai City FC's Igor Angulo. The prolific strikers have scored eight goals in the process. Ogbeche is also just four goals short of matching Coro's tally of most goals in ISL. The record is set at 48.

Hyderabad FC's set-pieces bring in threats

Hyderabad FC's cohesion among themselves have been a major reason for the success of the team in the eighth edition of the tournament so far. The Nizams have been particularly spectacular in scoring set pieces. Nearly 40% of Hyderabad FC's goals this season have come from dead-ball situations.

Tonight was no different. Hyderabad FC scored their opening goals courtesy of a freekick. Edu Garcia took a perfect curler. Landing the ball onto Bartholomew Ogbeche's foot, the striker made no mistakes in slotting it in. The second goal of the night also came from a corner taken by Garcia which Ogbeche put past once more. The link-up between the midfielder and the striker was an amazing affair to watch. While the goals looked very outstanding it was evident that the team has practised for it.

Odisha FC's attacking dominance has come to a halt

Odisha FC had started their campaign on a high note. The Kalinga Warriors secured consecutive high voltage victories over Bengaluru FC and SC East Bengal. They played some high press football and scored nine goals in the first two games. However, with time the momentum seemed to phase away.

A team boasting prolific forwards like Ariday Cabrera, Jonathas De Jesus, Javi Hernandez and Liridon Krasniqi. It's more than quite difficult to believe that the team has gathered one goal from five shots on target. Odisha FC looked overplayed by the Nizams in every aspect. The conceding of the six goals added to their woes of them.

Nikhil Poojary's domination in the right-wing

Although have a fairly poor game last time, Nikhil Poojary made a huge redemption as he totally dominated the right-wing. Playing almost the whole of the game. Poojary contributed to the win to a huge extent. He maintained the possession for the Nizams at the correct time. He further made around six important crosses that resulted in the scoreboard for the Nizams as they routed Odisha FC.

The stark difference in the defence

The scoreboard was enough evidence to show the stark difference between the defensive composition of the two teams. Odisha FC's defensive issues were exposed to the bones throughout all the games, as the Kalinga Warriors conceded 20 goals in eight games that they have played. However, scoring nine goals in the first two games it seemed that their attack would have balanced out the defensive woes. With the attacks coming stagnant and wasteful upfront, Kiko Ramirez has much to think about in the upcoming fixtures.

On the other hand, the Nizams have established them as the team with the most standout defence in the tournament. Despite facing some highly scoring sides, they have conceded only seven goals. They share the tally of the lowest ones with Chennaiyin FC. The brilliance of Akash Mishra on the left partnering with Chinglensana Singh while Tamang on the right with Juan has to be credited with the reason for a stout defence.