'Goals will come' assures NEUFC assistant coach Paul Groves after drawing blank against HFC

The Highlanders are yet to score a goal in the ongoing ISL 2022-23 campaign after two games.

Hyderabad scored thrice for the second consecutive game, this time not conceding any and winning comfortably by a 3-0 margin. It was NorthEast United's first home match of the season and it did not turn out to be well. With head coach Marco Balbul suspended, assistant coach Paul Groves was at the mantle today.

Although the Highlanders nearly snatched a point at Bengaluru after falling behind, at home they looked clueless against the defending champions. Paul Groves' side managed just two shots on target from the 10 they attempted, half of what Hyderabad FC did. This is what the NorthEast United assistant coach said following the loss.

Factors that led to the defeat

When asked about the factors that led to the team losing, NorthEast United assistant coach Paul Groves expressed his opinion and elaborated on many aspects. He said, "I think it was 100 percent effort from the players. You can't criticize the players for their effort, they gave their 100 percent. We played against the champions from last year and they showed their quality.

"I thought at times we showed good moves and a little bit of quality every now and then. We got a few opportunities and if we were to take one of those, it would have been 1-0 (in favour of NEUFC) and the game might have been different. That wasn't the case and in the end, they showed why they are the champions."

Conceding three goals

The Highlanders' assistant coach put forth his views on the leaky defence. He quoted, "I think firstly we have to give them (HFC) a little bit of credit. They created pressure and made everything very difficult for us. That forced us into errors.

"We should have worked the ball a little bit better. But it is a big factor with regards to the errors that we made on which they capitalised. It causes some little bit of problems when we make errors. They were ready to hurt you, they were ready to act."

Lack of player marker hurting team?

When asked about NorthEast United's inability to create good chances, Paul Groves refuted his claims and asserted that the team actually created chances, but was not able to convert the same. He said, "I felt we created a few chances at critical times in the game. If we were able to take one of those, especially at 1-0, it (the result) might have been different. If we were able to take one of the chances just after halftime, that may have changed the game.

"But I don't think you get away from the fact that they are champions for reasons. Their football is good, the majority of the time they were in control of the game. What I felt is that we carried a threat in different areas. We had some massive opportunities. But when you play against a side like Hyderabad, we have to take those chances.

"Then that maybe can change the game and give us something to hang on to. If you allow the game to get to 2-0, it becomes very difficult. The last thing you want to do against Hyderabad FC, a side that can keep the ball, is start chasing."

Takeaways from the match

In reply to a question about the takeaways from the match, Paul stated that there are positives that they would like to take from the game. "We always look to take the positives from a game. We created opportunities against what would be one of the best teams in the league. Have to analyse it (the match), we have to learn from it, and we have to move on. We have to try to improve for sure.

"There are positives, there will be positives we can take from it (matches). But also, we have to learn quickly. Where we are currently, we are a relatively new team. We need to pick up things and at the same time, we have to focus on our upcoming games."

Failure to score in two consecutive matches

When asked why the team's attackers were not able to score in both games, Paul Groves said that not converting chances is a part of football and the management is not worried about the same right away. This is what he said, "I think the two games have been very different. I think in the first game, we were a better team and we played to win the game, or minimum we could have earned a draw.

"Today, it was a different type of game with a different type of opposition. The right thing is, the strikers and the players forward are getting opportunities. They may not take those opportunities, it happens sometimes in football. You have to keep creating those opportunities to be able to score goals.

"I am sure in time that will come. But the thing, the whole purpose of football is to score. When it comes to actual matches, form and sharpness influence a team. Sometimes, that little bit of composure and quality prove effective for getting a goal."