Manolo Marquez: The performance today was tactically good

The coach was happy with the performance of his players.

Hyderabad FC and ATK Mohun Bagan played a goalless draw at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium in the first leg of the semi-final in the 2022-23 Indian Super League. There was nothing to separate both teams that made several attacking moves but could not find the back of the net eventually.

It was a tight contest and the only thing it did not have was goals. Several individuals came close to scoring in the game and that was also Manolo Marquez’s analysis during the post-match press conference. While he was happy with his players’ performance, he understands that the second leg is going to be tough as it is going to be an away fixture.

Here are the excerpts from the post-match media infraction with Manolo Marquez:

Analysis

Talking about the game, Manolo Marquez said that it was a tactically tight contest and that the second leg will be tough. He was quoted as saying, “It was a tactical game. There were not too many chances but the few of them that were there were clear.

Pritam Kotal hit the crossbar, Vishal Kaith saved the effort from Joel (Chianese), the post was hit by Yasir (Mohammad), and in the last moments with Manvir (Singh). It was an equal game without a lot of chances and they got a good result because they know they are strong in Kolkata.”

The upcoming game

Presenting his thoughts on the next fixture in Kolkata, Manolo Marquez said, “I know they are a strong team (at home), and they are confident when they play at home. Let us see, we won seven games away, got more points away than home in the championship, and in the one we lost in Kolkata, we played badly. But now, it is like a final.”

“If you ask me about my team, I am very happy with the season, the performance today was tactically good because we controlled all of their players,” Marquez said suggesting his team needed to be aware that they are playing against ATKMB, one of the strongest teams in India.

Support of the fans

Manolo Marquez expressed gratitude for the fans that came in droves to cheer the Nizams. He said, “I am grateful to the people who were coming usually. Today, we are happy to see all of the people, that were in the stands in good numbers. We felt that the crowd was with us. If we want Hyderabad to grow in terms of football, we need to finish every season in one of the top positions and play these kinds of games.”

Bartholomew Ogbeche starting on the bench

It was surprising to see Bartholomew Ogbeche start the game from the bench. Explaining his decision to do so, Marquez said, “First of all, we are confident in Javier Siverio. Secondly, it is difficult to play when you are injured. Even at Kerala Blasters FC, he was not on the bench. If you remember when we played three games in eight days, Bart is 38 years old, he cannot play 90 minutes consecutively. He trained only once before this game. It is the same with Joao Victor.”