Alvaro Vazquez celebrates after scoring the winning goal.
Kerala Blasters continued their unbeaten run in the Indian Super League by defeating Hyderabad FC 1-0 on Sunday. Alvaro Vazquez scored the only goal of the match in the first half for the Tuskers at the Tilak ground in Vasco.
Kerala Blasters are now unbeaten in nine consecutive matches after losing to ATK Mohan Bagan 4-2. During this period, they have recorded four wins and five draws.
Hyderabad suffered its second defeat in the tournament, ending their eight-match run. The Nizams, after ten games, are in the third position with 16 points.
Kerala Blasters marked 2021-22 season top scorer Bartholomew Ogbeche out of the game, stalling the Hyderabad attack. Vazquez scored the crucial goal for the Tuskers in the 42nd minute of the match.
With the help of Sahal Abdul Samad, the Spaniard forward went past the Hyderabad defender and slammed the goal. The 30-year-old scored his fourth goal in 10 matches.
After defeating the Nizams, the Kerala Blasters has topped the ISL table. The Tuskers and Mumbai City are tied for the number one seed with 17 points. However, Kerala Blasters with a better goal difference, lead the league.
In the post-match press conference, Ivan Vukomanovic, Kerala Blasters Head Coach praised the team's performance. Vukomanovic said, "I have to admit, tonight we played against one of the best teams in the league. It is obvious they are working on consistency and everything they did on the pitch shows that they are a good team. We have to approach every match from now on as the final and only then can we be able to collect three points. There are still 10 more games - 30 points - and we have to fight for every game."
Manolo Marquez, Hyderabad FC Head Coach, threw light on the team's shortcomings against the Tuskers. Marquez said, "I think we started very good, but after he scored, we did not play good enough till the end of first half. I think we had the control in the game in the second half, but we know they had some good players and in every counter attack, they looked dangerous. I am sad with the result, but I am not very sad by the way they played."