Hyderabad FC's Thangboi Singto hopes to return from October international break stronger

The Nizams earned their first point of the season in the last game despite getting Parag Shrivas sent off.

After Hyderabad FC’s challenging start to the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season with two consecutive defeats, Thangboi Singto’s men managed to turn things around. They earned a solitary point on the league table after a hard-fought stalemate against Chennaiyin FC in their first home game. Hyderabad’s strong defence, led by captain Alex Saji, played a crucial role in neutralizing Chennaiyin FC’s attacking threats.

Debutant Stefan Sapic and Muhammad Rafi had made timely clearances and interceptions, stopping the Marina Machans’ attempts to break through the Nizams’ backline. Arshdeep Singh‘s exceptional goalkeeping skills were on full display on that day (Tuesday, 1 October) as he made a total of six saves, denying Owen Coyle’s men on multiple occasions.

However, the hosts’ players appeared to be physically fatigued in the second half of the match against Chennaiyin FC, which resulted in their inability to convert their goalscoring chances. Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto spoke to the media post the match, acknowledging the team’s physical limitations. He had expressed the need for improved finishing to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

“Yeah, I think one thing is about tiredness because in a 90-minute game, I think at the moment 99.9% of our players are maybe good enough for 60 minutes. Post that, I think that’s where your mind says something and your body says something else. That sync and coordination are missing. That’s where you tend to makemistakes because Connor, for example, was very quick,” said Singto.

Thangboi Singto on players’ accountability

Hyderabad FC‘s hopes of securing a victory were dealt a significant blow when Parag Shrivas was shown a second yellow card, resulting in a red card as they played the rest of the game with ten men. This was a similar situation that occurred in Hyderabad FC’s previous match against Punjab FC when Leander D’Cunha was sent off. The loss of players to red cards has proven to be a costly setback for Hyderabad FC, impacting their ability to compete effectively.

Thangboi Singto asserted, “But those players who were red-carded should be aware because Leander is not a newbie in the ISL, Parag is not a newbie, so I think they have to take more responsibility because we need them at the moment with their experience in the team and their defending. On the other side, well, first time mistake, no problem. We have one coming back and one going for suspension. But overall, I think we’ll just have a chat with them and hopefully this doesn’t happen again.”

On improvements to be made during the break

The break will also provide an opportunity for the team to address any tactical or technical issues that may have arisen. Tactician Thangboi Singto believes that by working on their strengths and weaknesses during this time, Hyderabad FC will aim to come back stronger and better prepared for their upcoming matches.

He added, “I think apart from improving on the fitness, we need to improve on the tactical understanding of the team. Not only the players who are playing last few matches, but the players on the bench are equally important.

“A young squad, so we have our hands full in terms of coaches, in terms of the analyst, in terms of the fitness coach. So it’s going to be a combined effort to make the team ready in every aspect. And hopefully when we go and play Jamshedpur away we are much fitter, quicker and technically astute.”

Singto concluded by saying, “And these things if we improve on, definitely results will be there. We can’t win every match, but today if we were more clinical, more fitter, maybe off the ground was much better, and maybe the goal was there. But yeah, I think we keep on working hard together as a team, that’s all I can say.”

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