Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez addressed the media ahead of their game against Jamshedpur FC on Thursday at the GMC Athletic Stadium from 7:30 PM.
Hyderabad FC had a lot of missed opportunities upfront against Chennaiyin FC. Manolo Marquez started off with about how the can team improve upfront.
“Yes we have had a lot of chances but I am not worried about us scoring. The important thing is to create chances. I am worried about maintaining consistency throughout the ninety minutes. Of course, we had a lot of chances and in terms of chances we deserved to win the game, but we gave away too many chances to Chennaiyin to score, but Hyderabad FC should have won it.”
Hyderabad FC had 10 shots on target against Chennaiyin FC but managed to score only once. Manolo thinks the return of Ogbeche will add to the team’s firepower given that the team needs to score more goals to win the matches.
“Ogbeche is the top scorer in the league. Maybe we can play both the players (Ogbeche and Javier Siverio) together in our next game. Of course, Bart is a good player, he has already scored 9 goals, but in terms of minutes per goal, Javier has the best record in the league. But let’s see we are looking for a solution to play both of them together since we don’t have many players who can score goals.”
Manolo shared his verdict on the challenge Jamshedpur FC poses given that they too are in good form in the league.
“All the previous games against Jamshedpur FC has been very tight with not much to separate between the teams as far as the scoreline is concerned. Jamshedpur FC is a very tough and physical team. They are like a typical English team. They have the best player in the league, Greg Stewart. They have good character and are dangerous from set-pieces, and they have players with strong character like Eli Sabia and Peter Hartley. Moreover, they have a coach who knows the league and is one of the top coaches here. But like always it will be tough for them too.”
There has been some fierce physical battles between Jamshedpur FC and Hyderabad FC in the previous encounters. Manolo shares how he thinks tomorrow’s game might pan out.
“The last three games between them have been a draw, but it doesn’t mean tomorrow’s game will also be a draw. I think both teams have a good squad and anything can happen in any game of ISL. At this moment we are second and third in the league table, in fact, they have 2 points more than us. Every game is different so I can’t predict how the game will pan out, let’s see what happens.“
One of Jamshedpur FC’s biggest strengths has been the set-pieces through an in-form Greg Stewart. Manolo spoke about how he plans to tackle that and nullify Jamshedpur’s chances to score.
“We can’t, it’s impossible. It’s all about the deliveries. We have to pray he (Greg Stewart) doesn’t put very good crosses because he has fantastic deliveries. He played for Glasgow Rangers which is the best team in Scotland. So he is very good in these situations. He can do everything and it’s difficult to stop him since he is good with both feet, he can dribble, feint and he is clever and can earn free kicks in and around the penalty box with his skills, and also he has experience.”
“It’s true that he was tired at the end of the games since he is over 30 years and plays regularly, also Jamshedpur FC plays at a high pace, but no doubt he is a great player and it will be difficult to control him.”
With the league under a COVID cloud, Marquez explains how difficult it is to mentally prepare the entire team for the games given the unpredictability of the situation.
“All the teams are in the same situation. When you don’t know what will happen it becomes difficult, not just here in the bubble but in every aspect of life. The hotel staff is working very hard for us and I appreciate their efforts, but it is difficult for us to not be able to see our families. Life is not easy here but I realize there are people who are in worse situations than us.”
“We have to remind ourselves of this, and we have to stay positive and do our work. Everyone around the world is waiting for this pandemic to finish, but we will play and it’s up to them if they want to cancel, but till then we need to have a positive mentality as it’s very important for this kind of situation.”
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