Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto said it was a well-deserved point after a goalless draw against Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday. This was the first point of the season for the Nizams after two losses in the first two matches against Punjab FC and Bengaluru F.
The hosts could only take a solitary shot on target but kept Marina Machans, who took six shots on target, at bay. The visitors also dominated the possession with 57.2%.
“I don’t have any specific player to pinpoint today because each one of them, starting from the goalkeeper to the defence to the midfield to the strikers, they did their job. And I think it’s a well-deserved point and a clean sheet. I’m happy for the team,” Singto stated in the post-match press conference.
Meanwhile, the home team was reduced to 10 men after Parag Shrivas received a second yellow card for a bad foul in the 70th minute.
When asked about his players receiving red cards, he emphasized the need for greater discipline, stating, “I think one thing is about tiredness because I think at the moment 99.9% of our players are maybe good enough for 60 minutes. And after that, I think that’s where your mind says something and your body says something. That sync, that coordination is not there. That’s why you tend to make mistakes.”
“But, Leander (D’Cunha) is not a newbie in the ISL. Parag (Shrivas) is not a newbie, so I think they have to take more responsibility because we need them at this moment with their experience in the team, and they’re both defenders. On the other side, a first-time mistake, no problem. We have one coming back and one going out for suspension (in the next game). But overall, I think we’ll just have a chat with them and hopefully, this won’t happen again,” Singto added.
On the other hand, Serbian defender Stefan Sapic and Captain Alex Saji did a fine job in defense to help their team share the spoils.
Reflecting on his team’s performance, especially the two centre-backs, Singto said, “Having Alex and Sapic today, I think really sort of somewhat neutralized Chima because they were really onto him, and both our No. 6, Lenny (Rodrigues) and Isaac (Vanmalsawma) supporting them, and the No. 7 and No. 11 coming and getting more compact in the midfield really helped us to win the second balls.”
After the International break, Hyderabad FC will next take on Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur on 21st October.
