Marquez eyes improved show from Hyd FC against Odisha

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Football Club were held to a draw in their previous two games – against bottom-placed SC East Bengal and FC Goa – which dented their chances of consolidating the position in the Top 4 in Indian Super League (ISL) points table. Come Tuesday, the Hyderabad team looks to get back to winning ways […]

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Football Club were held to a draw in their previous two games – against bottom-placed SC East Bengal and FC Goa – which dented their chances of consolidating the position in the Top 4 in Indian Super League (ISL) points table.

Come Tuesday, the Hyderabad team looks to get back to winning ways when they take on struggling Odisha FC. Having extended their unbeaten run to six games from seven matches so far, the Manolo Marquez coach side hopes to bag three points.

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“We are in a very difficult competition. All teams are capable of defeating other teams. I am not saying we played well in the last match. Sure we need to improve a lot. But we can beat any team in the competition,” said coach Marquez.

Hyderabad are currently fourth in the points table with 12 points from seven matches. The coach, despite a not so impressive campaign from Odisha FC, expects a tough competition.

“I see many draws in the last few games. I am not saying we played very well in the last two matches – against East Bengal and FC Goa. We didn’t play our best against East Bengal. Odisha are a tough team. They have the best foreign players in their side. Probably better than many teams, even the teams in the top four. But the competition is very tough. But we can beat them,” asserted the 53-year-old Spaniard.

He also said the hectic schedule did have an impact on the performance. “I think with this kind of competition you can’t play 20 games in less than four months. Anyone can get injured at any time. Every game there will be some injuries. It is impossible to play a lot of games with the same players. Something has to be done in this regard. I know this is because of Covid situation. Next season, if Covid situation eases, we might have fewer injuries and there will be more days between games,” he said.

When asked whether the team is under pressure to perform owing the favourites tag to be among top four, the coach said, “For me, we are not favourites to qualify for the Top 4. After last season, where we missed the top 4 finish, there are expectations from the side. We started with good scores this season. Now the expectations are high. The fight will go on till the end for the top 4 finish as the league is very competitive. Failure is when you don’t try. We are trying and we are in a good position. But for sure, we can play better.”

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