We need to be clinical up front: Thangboi Singto

Thangboi Singto was unsatisfied with Hyderabad FC's performance in the attacking third.

Hyderabad FC lost their third successive 2023-24 Indian Super League fixture as Chennaiyin FC edged past them thanks to a solitary goal from Connor Shields at the Gachibowli Stadium on Monday. The hosts looked unconvincing in the attacking third throughout the night and failed to breach the visitors’ goal to come away from the game with any points.

Speaking to the media in the post-match press conference, head coach Thangboi Singto expressed concerns over his team’s lack of goals. He also spoke about areas where the team needs to improve quickly before the going gets tougher in the unforgiving ISL.

Here are the excerpts from the post-match press conference:

Lack of goals a concern

An issue is staring Hyderabad FC right in the face - that the team is not scoring enough goals. From the first three games of the 2023-24 season, the side has only one goal, which came in their opening game against East Bengal. Speaking about the drought, Singto said, “For me, the concern is scoring goals. Maybe we had 68% of possession but we need to put the ball in the net and score.”

“Stat-wise, we were much better than them, but we could not get any points. Going forward, we have to go back and just keep working hard,” the tactician added as HFC completed the third ISL fixture without a single point on board.

Need to be more clinical

Thankfully for Hyderabad FC, the one positive to take away from the defeat to Chennaiyin FC was that the side had identified the problem already. All they need to do is work towards fixing the issues in training and start winning some games. 

In this regard, Thangboi Singto said, “I think the boys did quite well, but there are areas where we must improve, especially in defensive transitions where we really need to press to win the ball. We were good with the ball and had around 68% possession. But going forward, we need to be more clinical. We are creating chances but we need to put the ball in the net to win the game.”