ISL: Cleiton's brace steers East Bengal to 2-1 win over Hyderabad

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Silva struck a fine brace to power East Bengal to their maiden win of the Indian Super League (ISL 2023-24) season as they beat Hyderabad FC 2-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday.

Both teams scored in the opening 10 minutes to set the tone of the game. Hyderabad built an attacking offensive move from the right flank and Australian striker Joe Knowles received a cross with perfection at the edge of the box on the left side.

He displayed commendable footwork to get past three defenders before cutting back and taking a shot at goal. He couldn't get enough power behind the shot but Hitesh Sharma was at the right place at the right time to find the back of the net.

The home side equalised within a couple of minutes and it was former Hyderabad FC player Borja Herrera who was the architect. Carles Cuadrat's side went direct as Herrera received a long ball and moved to the left to make space and have a go at goal. Silva was at the right spot to latch onto the loose ball and beat the 'keeper to make it 1-1.

East Bengal took a quick corner in the 36th minute, which caught the Hyderabad defence by surprise. The ball was directed to Silva again, who outjumped his marker but his header flew slightly above the crossbar.

The second half was a similarly equal affair as both teams struggled at to seize control. They used different strategies to do so: Hyderabad head coach Conor Nestor made four substitutes, while Cuadrat stuck to his starting XI and delayed his substitutions.

It was Silva who made the difference again as he struck a phenomenal free-kick at the brink of injury time. Stepping up to take the set-piece, the striker displayed impeccable technique to curl the ball into the top left corner and ensured that East Bengal bagged all three points from the game.

East Bengal FC will next take on Bengaluru FC on October 4, while Hyderabad FC will square off against Jamshedpur FC on October 5.