ISL: Robin Singh's late strike helps Hyderabad hold BFC 1-1

Image Credits: Twitter/@IndSuperLeague

Hyderabad: An injury-time strike by Robin Singh helped 10-man Hyderabad FC salvage a 1-1 draw against Bengaluru FC in a thrilling Indian Super League tie at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium here on Friday.

A second-minute strike by Sunil Chhetri looked enough for Bengaluru to pick up three points before Robin scored against his former side at the death to help his side pick up an important point.

In less than two minutes, the visitors took the lead through Sunil Chhetri. Kamaljit Singh's poor clearance found Laldanmawia Ralte whose pass went straight into the path of Chhetri who made no mistake in slotting the ball home.

The defending champions saw more of the ball and continued to create openings as Hyderabad struggled to close down on their opponents. There was a penalty shout when Harmanjot Khabra's cross from inside the box was allegedly handled by Gurtej Singh but the referee chose not to pay heed to it.

After the break, Hyderabad had a chance from a set-piece. However, Marcelinho's attempt sailed over the bar. The home side were reduced to 10 men with Sahil Panwar bringing down Udanta Singh in the 56th minute. This was after Udanta was through on goal after a brilliant run by Ashique Kuruniyan.

From the ensuing free-kick, Chhetri tried to sneak one under the wall but the ball fizzled out for Augusto inside the box. His attempt was just about kept out by Kamaljit, much to the relief of coach Phil Brown.

Marcelinho was booked for a dangerous lunge on Raphael soon after but was lucky to get away with just a yellow card. In the 67th minute, Kamaljit came to Hyderabad's rescue once again as he punched out Udanta's cross with Kuruniyan lurking at the near post.

Brown threw Robin Singh into the mix in their search for an equaliser and the former Bengaluru striker didn't disappoint. Marko Stankovic sent a pass for substitute Ashish Rai who pulled it back from the right for Robin to place it home.