Kolkata: A first-half goal by Cleiton Silva was enough as East Bengal notched up their first ISL win in the new year, beating bottom-placed Hyderabad FC 1-0 but not before surviving a series of scares from the hosts at the Gachibowli Stadium on Saturday.
The Brazilian — returning to the starting line-up after serving a one-match suspension — rose to the occasion in the 11th minute, meeting Nishu Kumar’s centre from the left with a perfect header which had power and precision to beat goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh.
Hyderabad were reduced to 9 men in the final stoppage time when Alex Saji and Joao Victor saw red after receiving their respective second yellow card from referee Tejas Nagvenkar.
Carles Cuadrat’s East Bengal jumped to eighth place on the standings with 15 points from 14 matches with their first win in six matches, which also followed their 2-2 draw with Mohun Bagan and losses to Mumbai City FC and NEUFC since the league’s resumption in 2024.
The winless Hyderabad — who have now lost their past six matches without scoring — stayed at the bottom with 4 points in 15 matches.
Cleiton could have added another goal in the first half when he failed to provide a finishing touch to Felicio’s pass inside the box. But it was HFC’s youngsters who grew in confidence as the game progressed, giving the rivals one scare after another.
Makan Winkle Chothe and Joseph Sunny missed gilt-edged chances while substitute Jeremy saw his header hit the upright with East Bengal keeper Prabhsukhan standing at his mercy.