Marco Pezzaiuoli laments 'worst' first half performance in HFC defeat

The coach also called out his side's lack of aggression and profligacy in the final third.

Bengaluru FC slumped to yet another defeat, this time against Hyderabad FC. Bartholomew Ogbeche's goal seven minutes into the game proved to be the difference on the night, at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim. Marco Pezzaiuoli's side have now lost three of their first five games in the Indian Super League 2021-22 season.

The Nizams came out charging and got their reward soon enough. Pratik Chaudhari's outstretched leg deflected Bartholomew Ogbeche's shot past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu into the net. Hyderabad then held on well for the rest of the game to walk away with the three points.

The result would've certainly frustrated Bengaluru FC could not break down Hyderabad's organization. Despite a few scattered chances, the Blues never came really close to threatening Manolo Marquez's men. It was something that head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli reflected on after the game.

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Poor start

Pezziaouli firmly voiced his displeasure at the performance of his side in the first 45 minutes. He replied, "I think we played a bad first half. It was the worst first half since I joined here. We didn't win a single duel and lost most of the second balls too. We lost the ball when we had it too."

Pezziaouli was seen admonishing Bruno Ramires during the first half water break. But, the coach mentioned that he took to the whole squad to improve their levels after a poor first 30 minutes.

"Not only with him (Bruno), I was unhappy with our performance in the first half. When you are a key player in the midfield, you need to be sharp and that was why I was not happy. Not only him, one of the midfielders didn't track the player back, he was more focused on offence and not on the defence and that's why we conceded the goal."

Lack of creativity in the final third

Bengaluru improved themselves in the second half. The Blues pressed better, got more possession and also created a few chances. But, their profligacy in the final third cost them.

Their Brazilian forward Cleiton Silva got a few guilt-edged chances, but couldn't make them count. Pezziaouli praised his players for their improved performance in the second half, but rued the lack of end product for the defeat.

"We were better in the second half, we created chances, we pressed and tried our style. But, we couldn't find the last pass to the right teammate. I think that was the problem in the second half. We won every duel and had 3-4 chances in the second half. But, when you get so many chances, you need to score. That's what we didn't do and that's why we lost the game," the German opined.

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Sunil Chhetri's form

The lack of goalscoring returns of skipper Sunil Chhetri is also often attributed as a cause to Bengaluru FC's downturn in form. "Captain Fantastic" is yet to hit the back of the net this season. He has also missed two penalties.

Hence his lack of output has at times left Cleiton Silva to carry the burden of the side's attacking efficiency. But, head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli firmly threw his weight behind the legendary striker coming good.

When asked about whether Chhetri's form is holding Bengaluru back, Pezziaouli stated, "I don't think so, he works very hard. Today, he got into good positions, especially in the box, but we didn't pass to him. Cleiton had a few chances to pass to him, but he shot it himself and no one passed to Sunil.

"It is these little moments that we need to do better. If he gets more of the ball, he will score. It is important to give him the chance to get on the ball given his position."

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