ISL 2022-23: We played better in the second half: Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez

Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez believes they played better in the second half after securing a 1-0 win against Jamshedpur FC while playing away at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur on Wednesday.

The Nizams continued their good show in the tournament as this was their fifth win of the season. Hyderabad now has 16 points under their bag and they are seven points ahead at the top.

Mohammad Yasir scored in the 48th minute for the visitors and it was enough for the team to secure three crucial points.

Sharing the positive atmosphere of the dressing room after their fifth win of the season, Manolo Marquez said in the post-match press conference, “The dressing room is always happy when you win games. But I think it is my obligation to insist (from the team) that we need to keep going and demand more (from ourselves) because winning with such small margins of 1-0 is too dangerous. We played better in the second half, but Jamshedpur FC had at least two clear chances, especially through Ishan Pandita, to equalize the game. We are happy that after six games we have 16 points, which is a very good return in this league.”

Both teams could not create many chances in the first half. However, Hyderabad was given a fine start in the second half. The Spaniard revealed that the discussion during half-time was to back their game in the second half.

Marquez added, “We played in a 4-4-2 formation in the first half and defended well. But it was too much respect shown by both teams. Practically nothing happened in the first half. We played with Bartholomew Ogbeche and Javier Siverio, maybe we needed more (combination) football in that part of the pitch. Javier Siverio had a good game, but I substituted him for Borja (Herrera). With Borja, we managed to play better in the second half. During half-time, we discussed nothing but to play our football. In the first half, the game was a little bit boring for the crowd and even for me, while I was on the sidelines.”

He added, “I was watching the game, and nothing much happened. And the way we were playing in the first half, it was not possible to score a goal because we did not create any clear chances. In the second half, we scored the goal very early, then the other team had to adapt and you have spaces for the counter-attacks when the opposing team tries to stay compact. We defended well in some moments. In this league, when you score first, you have more spaces to attack the opponent. But if you do not score the second goal, then there is always a danger of the game getting equalized.”

Hyderabad FC will look to continue the good show in the upcoming matches. The Nizams will next take on Kerala Blasters FC at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad on 19th November.