Deserved win, says Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez

The Nizams got the better of Begaluru FC in a close encounter in front of the fans.

Hyderabad FC is back on the top of the Indian Super League table after a 1-0 win against Bengaluru FC at the G.M.C. Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad. Bartholomew Ogbeche scored the vital goal which earned his team all three points. The result ensures that Manolo Marquez's side maintain their undefeated start to the season.

Marquez was delighted with the result as it was his first time leading in front of the home crowd. According to the manager, Hyderabad FC was deserving of the three points in a close game that had tough playing conditions and a strong opponent in Bengaluru FC.

Here are the excerpts from his conversation with the media in the post-match interaction:

Thoughts on the game

Manolo Marquez was delighted to play in front of the fans. He said, “It was good because we won. It was not only my first time but a lot of players’ first time in this stadium, playing with people. Let’s see if we can get more people for the next game but finally, people will come if the team continues to win the games.”

“The feeling is good because we won the game, I am very happy because in the second half Hyderabad was Hyderabad. In the first half, Bengaluru played more than better. In the second half, it was very clear that Hyderabad dominated the game. They defended well with good players but finally, we could score. If you look at the chances from the game, it was a fair score,” he continued.

Improvement in the second half

The first half was short of clear scoring chances. “We started the game okay, but there was one moment with long balls, there was a distance between defenders and forwards. Hitesh and Joao, only two players for midfielders, it was impossible for them in the half pitch. We told in halftime, we can lose or draw but we have one style and that is the reason we were champions, or we played two good seasons.”

“If we don’t play our style, it is very difficult. But, I am very satisfied, the players understood the message well and in the second half we had the possession, we kept the ball and we created chances. Our team is very competitive. Whether we finish (whatever position), I know our team is very competitive,” the boss added, praising his team’s tendency to grind out results.

Absence of Roy Krishna

Bengaluru FC was missing Roy Krishna, but Marquez believes that the Blues had plenty of other dangerous players on the field. Talking about the absence of the BFC striker, he said “When you don’t have a player and you lose, you always remember that player. We know that Roy Krishna is a very dangerous player.

"Even he scored against us in the last two semi-finals, in the first and the second leg. He is one of the top scorers usually in ISL but Javi Hernandes is not a bad player. They were very dangerous with Sunil, Sivasakthi and with Javi.”

Important to continue

To conclude, Manolo Marquez insisted that the team needs to continue working hard despite the positive start to the season. He said, “This is dangerous for the next games. We have seven points and everyone is waiting for us to win all the games. It is very difficult to win games in the ISL.

"We have another great game with a great team with coach Carlos Pena who will be a very good coach in the future, 100% because he was very clever when he played football. We have seven points and are on top of the table after three games. But now we have to continue because it is very long. ”