Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 31 (ANI): Hyderabad FC (HFC) head coach Thangboi Singto urged his team to learn from their mistakes following their defeat to Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Wednesday.
Mohun Bagan SG secured victory in Hyderabad with goals from Manvir Singh and Subhasish Bose, one in each half, handing Hyderabad FC their fourth defeat of the season. The home side began brightly, but the Mariners gradually took control of the match and capitalised on Singto’s team’s errors, notching their third consecutive win.
It was a tough result for Hyderabad FC, who had beaten Mohammedan Sporting Club in their previous game to register their first win of the season. Singto acknowledged the attacking strength of the opposition but was unhappy with the way his team defended.
“We trained to neutralise the counter (attacking threat) of Mohun Bagan SG. We knew that with Manvir (Singh), (Jamie) Maclaren (who would pose a threat) and on the bench, (Dimitrios) Petratos. They also had players like Sahal (Samad) and Liston (Colaco) coming in. So we knew that in counters they were really good. We tried to balance that out but it didn’t really help us. It was a mistake from us in the midfield (that led to the first goal). A misplaced pass, we gave the ball away and the counter happened,” Singto said in the post-match press conference as quoted by the ISL official website.
“We had phases where we played really good football but playing good football is not enough. We have to make fewer mistakes individually and convert the chances. We didn’t create much today. I can understand but the few chances we had (we should have converted). The shot from Lenny (Rodrigues), maybe (it could have been) 2-1, you never know. Mohun Bagan SG is a team we knew that it would be tough but we could have done better if we had not given the balls away. The free-kick from where they scored, it was a foul and most of the goals Mohun Bagan SG scored were from set pieces,” he further explained.
Both Mohun Bagan SG and Hyderabad FC had nearly equal possession in a match where chances were limited for both sides. The home team restricted the Mariners to just four shots on target, while they managed only one shot on target out of nine attempts. Hyderabad FC have kept a clean sheet in only two of their six games this season and Singto called on his team to improve their defensive performance moving forward.
“Both the goals could have been avoided, I would say. Because of the through ball and the interchange from Maclaren and Manvir, we could have tracked them well. If you don’t track a player who is running free and facing your own goal then the chances (of conceding) are always high. The free-kick for example, we could have done better. So in these situations, I want my boys to be more aggressive going for the ball defensively,” he said. (ANI)
