Hyderabad FC brought their Indian Super League (ISL) season to an end with a thumping 5-1 win over NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here on Thursday.
Liston Colaclo and (12', 41'), Marcelinho (13', 88') scored braces while Mohammed Yasir (55') also grabbed a goal to earn Hyderabad's second win of the season. Andrew Keogh (35') pulled one back for the hosts.
With 10 points from 18 matches, Hyderabad ended their season at the bottom while NorthEast remained in the ninth spot with 13 points and a match in hand.
Hyderabad needed three points to avoid being the worst team in the history of ISL and they were out to prove a point right from the kick-off.
The visitors put pressure on the hosts' defence and the latter succumbed to it in the 12th minute. Nestor Gordillo played Colaco through on goal and goalkeeper Pawan Kumar, who rushed off his line to clear, completely missed the ball and allowed the Hyderabad forward to tap the ball into an empty net.
Hyderabad doubled their lead a minute later and once again it was a defensive error by NorthEast that opened the doors. Marcelinho pounced on a poor back pass by Milan Singh, dribbled into the box and beat the goalkeeper with a simple finish.
The Highlanders finally scored after the half an hour mark. Chaves' chipped a cross from the left flank which was met by Keogh in the centre who converted with a header.
NorthEast's celebrations were cut short when Colaco unleashed a powerful strike that found the net before the break.
The NorthEast defence went from bad to worse after the restart. Pawan Kumar erred again as he parried Colaco's shot straight into the path of Yasir, who scored his first ISL goal.
Pawan was replaced by Soram Poirei after the hour mark but the pressure didn't die down.
Hyderabad added a fifth goal before the end of 90 minutes when Stankovic's through ball was deflected into the path of Marcelinho by Nim Dorjee. The Brazilian gleefully pounced on it and got the better of Poirei with a good strike.
