ISL 2023-24: Punjab brushes Hyderabad FC aside, continues winning streak after resumption of season

Punjab FC defeated Hyderabad FC by 2-0 at the Gachibowli Stadium in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 tonight.

The team thus secured its third win in four games since the resumption of the season late last month, jumping to the 10th spot in the table.

As has been the norm throughout this campaign, the duo of Madih Talal and Luka Majcen pulled the league debutants past the finishing line, assisting each other’s goals whilst the visitor worked diligently to secure a clean sheet.

Interestingly, Hyderabad FC was pretty much involved in the proceedings in either halves, coming touchingly close to breaking the deadlock multiple times, primarily thanks to Makan Chothe.

Chothe had taken the shot that deflected off that produced Hyderabad FC’s first goal after five games in its clash against Bengaluru FC in the previous match. However, Punjab FC goalkeeper Ravi Kumar, who made two saves tonight, held his line to help his side from conceding any goal in this away clash.

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Contrastingly, Punjab FC optimised the limited chances it created, with Talal and Majcen leading the charge. The Slovenian was the first to find the back of the net, positioning on the left side of the post to pounce upon and head in a short cross by Talal, who curled in the delivery from the edge of the box in the 45th minute of the game.

That strike provided Punjab FC positive momentum in the second half, and it kept exploring its options with the help of the duo of striker Wilmar Jordan Gil. In the 56th minute, Gil held the ball strongly, before a series of events led to Majcen laying the ball in the path of Talal outside the box on the left flank. Talal chose to test his luck from distance instead of building the attack up, with his shot racing past Laxmikant Kattimani to bring up the team’s second and final goal of the night.

On the other hand, Hyderabad FC will regret missing the 10 shots that it attempted, out of which eight were off-target, whereas only two tested Ravi Kumar. Nevertheless, the search for its first win of the campaign continues.