Hyderabad FC coach Thangboi Singto reveals what went wrong against Punjab FC

The coach did not hesitate to admit that he made some tactical errors.

Thangboi Singto’s Hyderabad FC were defeated by Punjab FC by a 2-0 scoreline in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday. This victory gave the Shers the much-needed three points moving them to the top of the table and pushing Hyderabad to the bottom of the table. Despite dominating possession and creating numerous scoring chances, the team’s inability to convert these opportunities into goals proved to be the reason for their loss.

The Nizams’ head coach Thangboi Singto addressed the media, providing his analysis and assessing the team’s shortcomings against Punjab FC. He began by saying, “Punjab were much fitter, they kept the ball much better than us, so I think the only thing we can do is go back and keep training and keep coming back and improve on the areas we have to improve.”

Thangboi Singto on his tactical mistakes and substitution errors

The Nawabs had traveled to the capital city immediately after their game against Bengaluru FC to save some traveling time and adapt to the conditions of the place. Thangboi Singto believed that despite the limited time the boys gave their best but was quick to shift the blame onto himself, mentioning, “It’s mostly to be done on the fitness part, because, nobody’s to be blamed for this because training for six to seven days and coming back after playing in Bangalore, and coming here within two to three days, and again; we can’t tell the boys much. If you want someone to blame here, you have to blame the coach.”

The mentor’s decision to substitute Cy Goddard proved to be a costly mistake for the Yellow and Black. Despite Goddard’s impressive performance in the midfield, Thangboi Singto’s tactical change disturbed the team’s rhythm thereby leading to a decline in their play.

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The substitution resulted in a loss of creativity and a decrease in the overall team’s attacking intent and the coach acknowledged the same as he explained, “I think, I take the blame in terms of maybe taking out some of the technical players. Cy when I took him out early for that, I thought I’d bring fresh legs. Cy also just joined us during the past week maybe, so, maybe if he stayed for another 10-15 minutes, we would have been in more control of the game.”

Cy Goddard was replaced by Brazilian striker Allan Paulista who made his debut for Hyderabad FC against Punjab FC.

“But the thought was that maybe we need a little bit of fresh legs so we can run up and down the pitch, you know. But football is not about running up and down, it’s about creativity, it’s about keeping the ball well, making good decisions, and you have to be a technically good player to make those,” explained the manager.

Thangboi Singto’s decision to delay Leander D’Cunha’s substitution, despite his subpar performance, ultimately proved to be another tactical error. By keeping Leander on the pitch, the coach took a risky gamble which culminated in him being sent off for a red after the defender got booked for a second yellow, leaving Hyderabad FC with 10 men for the remainder of the game.

“I took Cy out early and maybe persisted with Leander, a bit longer. We thought that we have a young Laidanmawia making a debut too, but you know, I thought that maybe if I had taken Leander a bit quicker, we would (have) played with 11, not 10 men. In the end, maybe we created more chances.

But saying that, I think, you know, the players from their side, they gave their best. Maybe, I needed to make better decisions in terms of substitutions, in terms of, you know, bringing in what type of players we need for the game. I think I’m learning in terms of how to make the best team out of our boys,” Thangboi Singto concluded.

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