Chennai, Mar 9 (PTI) Hyderabad FC defeated Chennaiyin FC 1-0 in a nail-biting contest of the Indian Super League with Sajad Parray netting the all-important goal in the 90th minute here on Saturday.

The home side started the contest high on confidence with Rafael Crivellaro coming close to scoring the opener in the fifth minute when Connor Shields found him with a pinpoint cross from the right flank.

However, the midfielder’s shot was stopped in its tracks by the rival defenders.

Ninthoinganba Meetei hit the side-netting before Hyderabad’s goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani made a fine save in the 15th minute on Vincy Barretto’s right-footer from inside the box.

Forward Farukh Choudhary produced a thunderous strike from outside the box in the 25th minute but it struck the crossbar. Crivellaro was also on target in the 45th minute, but Kattimani made another fine save to keep the scores level in the pulsating contest.

Hyderabad came close to scoring just before half time when Abdul Rabeeh hit the bar with a header. The visitors rattled the post once again in the 51st minute with a shot from Joseph Sunny.

A minute later, Ninthoi’s shot went over the goal after touching the crossbar.

In the 67th minute, Aakash Sangwan attempted to put the ball in the back of the net with a header from the centre of the box. However, his attempt was comfortably saved by Kattimani.

Sajad received the ball in the six-yard box just before the start of injury time and sent it into the bottom right corner to score the only goal of the match.

Chennaiyin will now take on Mohun Bagan Super Giant on March 31, while Hyderabad are scheduled to play Mumbai City FC on April 1.

Source: PTI News