Dominated the game, but still need that click: Juan Pedro Benali on draw against Hyderabad FC

Benali also spoke about Parthib Gogoi’s absence.

NorthEast United were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Hyderabad FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati. The Highlanders only have themselves to blame as they have dropped two crucial points.

NorthEast United created a lot of chances, but failed to convert them. Their lack of intent in the final half is the reason why they failed to get a win against the Nizams. Nim Dorjee scored an own goal in favour of NEUFC and opened the scoring before Petteri Pennanen equalised for Hyderabad FC late in the first half.

After the match, NorthEast United FC’s head coach Juan Pedro Benali addressed the media and shared his thoughts.

Thoughts on the result

Sharing his thoughts on the result, the head coach said that he isn’t happy with the result because his side had a lot of chances to score.

“’I’m not happy with the result. Especially when you see the game, we got numerous chances. But the problem is that in football when you don’t kill, you get killed. This is how it is. They played their game. They played smart. Well, we should have scored. 

He also said that his side did not start well in the second half.

“If we score two, three, or four in the first half, nobody will be surprised. In the second half, we didn’t start very well. Suddenly, with the changes, the team changed again, and we had more chances to score, but we didn’t do it. Maybe we keep it for the next game,” he stated.

Parthib’s absence

Speaking about NorthEast United’s star boy Parthib Gogoi’s absence from the team, the head coach said, “He wasn’t feeling well in the last game and that’s why we didn’t risk him. Yesterday he came to training with too much pain in his knee. That was the reason why he missed the game and let’s hope he’s fit to play in the next game,”

Strong start, but not the ideal finish

NorthEast United start their games on the right note, but fail to keep it up to the mark for the entire game. Speaking about the same, Juan Pedro Benali said, “Football is not only one single game; it has many, many small games during the game. In the second half, the first ten minutes, we were not very well. But after 10–15 minutes, when we made the changes, the team changed a lot, and we started playing (well again),” he stated. In the second half, for the first ten minutes, we were impatient. 

He also mentioned that his players should’ve been a bit more patient and wait for their chances.

“We wanted to arrive very quickly, and we wanted to score because we had too many chances. Psychologically, we want to go, and we need to have that patience a little bit. What we needed was to calm down, try to play, and wait for the situation. And in the last 25–30 minutes, we created many chances again. We dominated the game, but we still need that click. It will come. I’m positive it will come,” he asserted.

Transfer window

The winter transfer window is just a few days away. When asked about his side’s plan for the upcoming window, the Spaniard said, “We won’t stop working. We always continue to look at players and try to make our team stronger. And we don’t want to make mistakes because we need to spend our money wisely,” he concluded.

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