Mumbai are a tough side to beat: Manolo Marquez

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Football Club didn’t have the best of the starts to the league, going down to Chennaiyin FC 0-1 despite creating more chances in their first game. However, coach Manolo Marquez felt that one loss doesn’t affect them much but agreed that they need to improve on converting chances. Hyderabad will take on defending […]

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Football Club didn’t have the best of the starts to the league, going down to Chennaiyin FC 0-1 despite creating more chances in their first game.

However, coach Manolo Marquez felt that one loss doesn’t affect them much but agreed that they need to improve on converting chances.

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Hyderabad will take on defending champions Mumbai City FC on Saturday and the coach is aware of the danger the opponents can pose. “Mumbai are a very strong team. The match is going to be a tough challenge. But I am optimistic that we can do well. If we play well we can win against any team in the league. Of course, the scheduling time between the matches is not ideal as we have only three or four days to prepare. But that is the case with every team,” he said on the eve of their clash.

When asked about the team not making the most of the chances in the previous match, he added, “I felt we didn’t deserve to lose the first game but that is football. I always felt we needed to create more chances to win the game. We definitely had more chances than Chennaiyin and had more possession. But we need more players in the box to convert the chances. There were only a few players in the box and hence failed to score the goals. We need to improve in that area.”

Hyderabad also suffered a major blow when Halicharan Narzary limped off the field inside 10 minutes against the Chennaiyin side and the coach revealed the player will be out of at least three games. “He suffered an injury in the internal part of the knee. We are not sure when he will be ready. But he will not play two to three games for sure.”

He also hinted that more Indian players will start and will be handed debut caps in the lineup against Mumbai. “With injury to Hali, we can’t start with the same line-up. I don’t want to start the same line-up as well. There will be more Indian players in the starting line-up for sure.”

Hyderabad will play the match at 9.30 pm in the night for the first time and the coach said he was ok with the scheduling. “I am nobody to advise the league but I feel it is better than the 5.30 starts we had earlier. The climate will be very hot and tough for players. So given the chance, a 9.30 start is better. But I feel it is a bit late as well,” concluded the 53-year-old Spaniard.

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