Hyderabad FC all set for another tough battle with ATK Mohun Bagan
Hyderabad: With already a foot in the final with a crucial 3-1 victory in the first leg of the semifinal, Hyderabad Football Club look to continue their good run to keep ATK Mohun Bagan at bay when they clash in the second leg of the semifinal on Wednesday. Hyderabad FC survived a barrage of attacks […]
Hyderabad: With already a foot in the final with a crucial 3-1 victory in the first leg of the semifinal, Hyderabad Football Club look to continue their good run to keep ATK Mohun Bagan at bay when they clash in the second leg of the semifinal on Wednesday.
Hyderabad FC survived a barrage of attacks from the ATK Mohun Bagan in the last 10 minutes and held their defence strong to come out on the right side. However, the Hyd FC coach Manolo Marquez expects a tough game once again. He also said that heading into the match with a two-goal advantage is a good thing. “It was a very hard game. ATK scored before us and in fact, they played better than us in the first half. After the cooling break, our team recovered well. We started well in the second half and scored two goals. It is true that in the end it was very difficult to control the attack of ATK. But I am sure it will be a very difficult game,” he added on the eve of the clash.
Unlike the first leg, Marquez wants his players to be more brave on the field. “I think in the first half, we needed to be brave. Maybe because we are in the semis for the first time and we have a lot of young players, it did affect the game. ATK is a dangerous side. We not only have to score goals we need to play our normal game and try to win the game,” he said.
Bartholomew Ogbeche continued his superb form scoring a record-equalling 18th goal of the season in the last match and he hopes to deliver the goods with the 19th goal of the season.
When asked what the message was to the players at halftime, he said, “We have to be brave. When you play in a game like this and especially in the semis, your goal should be to qualify for the final. If you are scared, you have to change the sport. You can lose, draw or win, but you have to be brave,” he revealed.
He also had a lot of praise for the defence unit who withstood a strong counter-attack. “We managed very good defence in the final 10 minutes. ATK got five to six consecutive corners. We defended very well.”
With a maiden ISL final just a few steps away for Hyderabad, the 53-year-old Spaniard revealed that they are not thinking about it now. “Nobody is thinking about the final. We are 100 per cent focused on the game tomorrow. If we qualify we will enjoy it.”
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