ISL Season 8: Hyderabad FC have one foot in the finals after their resounding 3-1 win against ATK Mohun Bagan in the first leg of the semifinals. The Mariners took the early lead in the first half through Roy Krishna but then the Nizams came back with a strong reply in the second half. Follow all the ISL 2021-22 LIVE Updates only on InsideSport.IN
Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez was very happy with how his players braved the early attack from ATK Mohun Bagan and won the first leg with a very fluent second-half performance. Bartholomew Ogbeche’s equaliser at the stroke of halftime started the turnaround as it shifted momentum towards the Nizams. Later in the second half, Mohammed Yasir and Javier Siverio scored back to back to peg back ATK Mohun Bagan.
𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋-𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 at Bambolim and the boys bring home a 2⃣-goal advantage from the first leg of the semi-final.
Bart Ogbeche, Mohammad Yasir and @JavierSiverio97 help Hyderabad beat ATKMB on an entertaining night.#HFCATKMB #ForTheCup 🏆 #ThisIsOurGame #మనహైదరాబాద్ #HyderabadFC pic.twitter.com/yrr99f2gne
— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) March 12, 2022
Marquez admitted that his team were not at their best despite winning 3-1 in the first leg. But he wants to be wary of the threat that ATK Mohun Bagan bring in the second leg aswell.
“It is true after ninety minutes that it is 3-1 for us but there is a second-leg. Ninety minutes more against one team that has very good players. If you look at the bench of ATK Mohun Bagan, you can be scared because there are a lot of good international players. Now we have ninety minutes that we have to keep playing, not in the same way because, in the first half, we didn’t play a good game. But more or less in the second half, we played well. We were very clinical in set-pieces today,” the Spanish head coach said at the post-match press conference.
Hyderabad FC have gone through a lot of obstacles to reach this position where they are staring at their first ISL finals appearance. Hence Marquez feels that whatever Hyderabad FC achieves this season will be a bonus as it is already a historic season for them.
“We are in a historical season for Hyderabad. We finished second in the regular season, let’s see what happens in the second leg but at least we won one game in the semi-final. Let’s see if we can qualify for the finals that would be an incredible success, not only for the team but for the fans, for the city. Hyderabad as a city needs one thing like this,” Marquez replied when quizzed about reaching the finals for the first time.
Marquez has made some brilliant acquisitions in the transfer window this summer. Bringing in some really talented players have helped them come so far. But one of the signings of the season has to be Javier Siverio. The young Spanish striker has scored seven goals this season which included a very decisive goal against the Mariners in the semifinals.
Speaking on how Marquez utilised him as he already had Ogbeche leading the lines, the Spaniard explained, “We didn’t have Joel, he was injured. Then, in three offensive players, we decided if we didn’t have Joel, we would play Bart and Javier. At the beginning of the season, the positioning was not good, there was too much space between the mid-fielders and the forwards. When Bart recovered his position, then in some moments we played very well. The most important thing was when we did not play well, more or less, we were safe with the positioning of the team.”
Lastly, the Spaniard shared the unfortunate update regarding fullback Asish Rai. He revealed how the youngster is in the COVID-19 bubble and will not make it to the second leg.
“He is still with Covid in our bubble. He is the 29th player in our squad to have or had Covid. I don’t think he can arrive for the second game. Even in the last game, against Mumbai City FC, and today because Juan put a lot of offensive players, this for me is incredible. I have only good words for my players. It is impossible to speak badly,” Marquez concluded.
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