Manolo Marquez: Some new players showed their value, others need time

The Hyderabad FC head coach congratulated Jamshedpur FC for the victory.

Hyderabad FC suffered a shocking defeat to league strugglers Jamshedpur FC by a 2-3 scoreline at the G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium, in Hyderabad, on Saturday. Manolo Marquez made several changes to the starting line-up after his side secured a playoff semi-final spot in their previous fixture.

Despite playing with 10 players in the second half, the Men of Steel held their nerves and won the game after a strong collective effort. The head coach of Hyderabad FC, Manolo Marquez, gave the visitors credit for the win during his post-match media interaction. 

Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

Deserved to equalise

Manolo Marquez was happy about his team’s strong start. However, conceding three goals one after another, took the game away from HFC. Analysing the game, Marquez said, “We started the game well, scored the first goal but conceded three. I think that the team was okay even though we missed a penalty. We scored the second goal and I think we deserved the third goal.”

“I congratulate Jamshedpur FC because they played maybe 30-35 minutes with one player less. They defended a lot. It is true that we created a lot of chances but on some days you're not right in your final decision,” he further added.

The cost of nervousness

Looking at the huge amount of changes to the starting XI, it was expected that the proceedings will be tough. Talking about his team selection and the performance of the fringe players, the Spaniard said, “It is difficult when you play your first game. I think most of them were very nervous but we were happy with them in the training session. They deserve this chance to play. Some of them showed their value. Other players still need time. Some of them have a very good mentality.”

Focus on training

Manolo Marquez understands that his team cannot relax and must train hard in order to face upcoming opponents. He said, “As usual, we'll train, go to Kerala, and we’ll play and then let’s see what happens. We'll come back again to Hyderabad and we'll train."

"It is true that when we play the semi-finals, the opponent will arrive with one very strong last game. We have to train hard and keep going because if you don't train in a good way, you can have problems,” the head coach concluded.