Manolo Marquez praises youngsters for their display against BFC

The Hyderabad FC tactician spoke in detail about Bart Ogbeche's opening goal.

Hyderabad FC reclaimed their position at the top of the Indian Super League (ISL 2022-23) points table after defeating Bengaluru FC by a 3-0 scoreline at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, on Friday. Bartholomew Ogbeche scored a goal for the Nizams, ending his goal drought in the league, followed by an own goal from Sandesh Jhingan. Joel Chianese scored the third to put the result beyond any doubt. Manolo Marquez was impressed by the young players in his team from what he told the reporters during the post-match press conference.

Excerpts from the conversation are listed below:

Summing up the performance

While talking about the game, Manolo Marquez spoke with the awareness that the game was closer than the scoreline suggested. He said, “I think the game was more equal than 3-0. We deserved to win but every action and moment was for us and we scored the first goal when nothing was happening. We scored the second goal which was very important before half time. Then we told in the dressing room that, 2-0 we could check in the World Cup, is a very dangerous score when you are winning.”

“BFC were pushing a lot in the second half, and we had a very clear chance and finally we killed the game very late. But, if Bengaluru scored the first goal in one moment of the second half, for sure we would have suffered in the final minutes. I am very happy because a lot of new players (were) in the team, young players and we are happy because BFC are one of the best teams,” he added.

Results from the training pitch

The Spaniard clarified that the first goal from Bartholomew Ogbeche was a result of the work put in the training sessions. He said, “Yesterday we practiced this. This is a goal that Bart (Ogbeche) scored when he played for Kerala Blasters. We watched this goal and we did it against ATKMB but Vishal Kaith saved it. But today the shot was better and practically impossible for Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) (to save).

“Usually, the coaches are very happy when you score one goal in set-pieces that you prepare. It is more for my staff than for me, that goal,” he said while crediting the coaching staff for the first goal.

Satisfaction following the win with young players

Manolo Marquez reserved praise for the young players of the team for delivering when it was needed. He said, “I am very happy especially because important players were out of the team today and when you play with Rohit Danu, (Abdul) Rabeeh, Aaren (D'Silva) - these very young players - you get to win in a difficult stadium, as a coach it is very difficult to be more satisfied than today.”

Focus not on the title

The Nizams are back on the top of the table, albeit for now. Talking about if the team was thinking about winning the league, the head coach briefly said, “We are not thinking about the title.”