ISL 2021-22: "The game was finished when we scored that third goal," says Hyderabad FC Head Coach Manolo Marquez.

Hyderabad FC climbs up to the second spot of the table once again by demolishing Odisha FC 6-1 on their latest match of the Indian Super League. Kiko Ramirez's men had no answer to the relentless Hyderabad pressing on the second half. A contented Manolo Marquez addressed the press after their emphatic win.

2nd half dominance

The deadlock was broken very quickly in the match thanks to an own goal by Sailung. However, the match was pretty balanced till the halftime whistle. But the Nizams came down strong in the second half. The third goal from Edu Garcia broke the spirit of the Odisha side. When asked about his mantra to the players at the half time, Marquez said

"We knew we have to attack to win against Odisha. They had dangerous players like Ariday waiting on the bench. Our main goal was to find the third goal. Practically the game was finished when we scored that third goal."

New style of play

This was Hyderabad's second win of this season with a margin of five or more goals. Before Ramirez, Khalid Jamil was the only victim of Hyderabad's stellar attacking prowess. When asked if this is the new 'brand of football' the Nizams are looking forward to, the gaffer said,

"This competition is very equal despite our goal margin. All I can promise is, we will continue or we will try to continue in this line. Throughout the year, we only had 1 defeat in 20 games. We have good quality in the team. It is difficult to win against us even when we don't play good."

Obgeche and Garcia's importance

The duo of Bartholomew Obgeche and Edu Garcia had wrecked the defence of the Kalinga warriors today. Both of them have been very influential on the attack for Hyderabad throughout the campaign. When asked how he feels about the foreign duo, Gaffer made sure to point out that he relies on all of his players equally.

"They are important for us but they can score only if others work. It's about every player and every substitute. I'm more satisfied with the debut of Zothanpuia today."

New year resolutions

Hyderabad completed the 2021 calendar year on a high note. Their performance throughout the year, as the coach had mentioned earlier, was commendable. Marquez is looking forward to an equally successful 2022 right now. With the talent that Hyderabad have, he is pretty sure it will not be hard for them to carry this mindset to the next year.

"We all know how good ATKMB are. Even with their change of coach, they are a very good team. But we will have our chances to win. We have some days to rest and recover. Juan Ferrando plays good football."