Hyderabad FC's Shameel Chembakath praises 'players after first home win in two seasons

Hyderabad FC got their first home win after 709 days

Under interim coach Shameel Chembakath, Hyderabad FC finally tasted victory on home soil in ISL, securing a thrilling 3-2 win over Jamshedpur FC at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium. The Nawabs overcame a two-goal deficit to claim their first home win of the ISL 2024-25 season.

The match was a rollercoaster of emotions. Muhammed Rafi opened the scoring for Hyderabad FC in the 12th minute, netting his first ISL goal. However, Jamshedpur FC quickly responded, with Javi Hernandez converting two penalties within a four-minute span to take the lead.But Hyderabad FC did not give up. Joseph Sunny pulled one back in the 69th minute, and a stunning strike from Andrei Alba in the 74th minute sealed the victory.

This hard-fought win marked a significant milestone, not only securing their first home victory in two seasons but also delivering the first win under the interim leadership of head coach Shameel Chembakath

Coach Shameel Chembakath spoke to the media at the Pre match press conference and expressed his thoughts on the victory

Coach Shameel’s thoughts on the win

“This is one of the most memorable moments in my entire coaching career. I think all the boys did well today, For me, I just had four demands before they entered the pitch. The consistency, which we worked on in the last few matches. Work rate I needed that too, And the commitment, that also they have showed. And the last part which I asked was don’t share the points. And lastly the clean sheet too. We did not get the clean sheet, but we didn’t share the points. That’s what I asked – three points that they gave us. I don’t know about the other seasons but maybe for me, this is one of the best results for us,” he stated.

Shameel Chembakath lauded the contributions of young talents Joseph Sunny and Muhammed Rafi, praising their goals and their commitment in securing the three points. He also praised goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh for his crucial saves, emphasizing his role in ensuring the team left the pitch with all three points.

“If you look at his work rate, Joseph Sunny is one of the players who runs the most on our team. I know Muhammed Rafi is a very intelligent player. You can see that in the last match against Bengaluru FC, how the way he just maintained the defence without Alex Saji in the team. Arshdeep Singh keeps on improving match by match. He made the last two crucial saves brilliantly. He gave the last-moment win for us, For me overall, everyone is giving their best whenever they are coming off the bench too,” he concluded.

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