"The competition is very equal," says Manolo Marquez ahead of Bengaluru FC clash

The Hyderabad FC head coach explained why the team had back-to-back draws last week.

Hyderabad FC face Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Tilak Maidan on Thursday evening. The game holds special importance for both teams, as they are looking for playoffs spots. Hyderabad find themselves in fourth position currently and if they get a win they would move into third. Three points for the Blues will take them to sixth. The Nizams' head coach Manolo Marquez spoke to the media before the game and shared his thoughts.

Three back-to-back draws

Hyderabad FC have played three back to back draws, where they could’ve won the game and closed the gap at the top. Speaking on the topic, Manolo Marquez said, “I think in this moment the competition is very very equal. There are lots of draws and all the teams are fighting to arrive in top four. All the teams can arrive in top four and all the games are very difficult.

"If you analyze game-by-game, after two wins we played three draws. We played a really good game against Mumbai. We had clearer chances than them. Against Odisha as well we could’ve decided the game in the first half, but in the second half we were bad and the game against Jamshedpur was fair,” he went on.

Successive clean-sheets

Hyderabad have kept two back-to-back clean-sheets after a very long time and the coach gave his comments on the same, saying, “We play our style and when we concede goals people say we lose balls in transition and so on. This is our style, I repeat. When we lose these balls we have more possession and we concede fewer goals. With clean-sheets, you don’t lose games.”

Shankar Roy's signing

The Nizams have roped in goalkeeper Shankar Roy in a swap deal with East Bengal and the former Las Palmas boss gave his assessment on him.

“He is a very good goalkeeper, very fast. He plays very well with his feet. He is a good goalkeeper who suits our style of play. Of course, the most important thing is to save goals. He can help us (going forward) and I am very happy with our four goalkeepers.”

Adil Khan’s loan move

Adil Khan, who was named club captain at the start of the season has now left the team to join FC Goa in a loan deal for the rest of the season. Marquez also spoke about the move.

"Adil wanted to move out and he wanted to play because he was there with the national team in the last call by (Igor) Stimac. I understand perfectly that if he wants to play in the national team he needs to play continuously," he explained.

The Oppossition

Manolo Marquez shared his thoughts on the misfiring opponents and said, “If I can speak about Bengaluru it will be only in a good way. The team is trying to recover their former style and Naushad Moosa is sincerely doing a good job.

"They are playing well, but sometimes they have bad luck. In the game against Kerala Blasters, they conceded on a counter-attack. But, in general, they are a very good team," he signed off.