'East Bengal deserve much more points than they have' - Hyderabad FC's Manuel Marquez after draw

Hyderabad FC head coach Manuel Marquez cut a satisfied figure after his team's 1-1 draw against East Bengal in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Goa on Friday. 

Hyderabad, right in the middle of the race for play-offs, were desperate for a win and had to wait till injury time to salvage a draw. 

Marquez, however, said that the Nizams were not able to control the match in the first half and had some bad moments after conceding the slender lead to the Kolkata giants. 

"We are satisfied because we equalized the game at the last moment. But in the first-half, we are not able to decide the game. In the second half, we shot against the post. And in the counter-attack, they score. After they score. I think we had some bad moments, nervous. (But) we got one important point," Marquez said after the game.  

East Bengal are ninth in the table currently but Marquez believes that the Kolkata giants have one of the best squads in the league. He insisted that East Bengal deserve to have plenty more points on the table. 

"East Bengal at this moment have the best squad in the league. Maybe they have some problem. Maybe we are playing very good practically all the season. With all the respect to East Bengal, they started the season very late. In the (transfer) market, they changed a lot of Indian players. I remember they deserve to win against Mumbai. I think they deserve more points in the table. The problem is not for us though. We are doing very good in the season," Marquez said. 

Hyderabad are currently third on the table with 24 points from 17 games.

"Now we are towards the end of the competition. There are only three games. Of course, very difficult to win the games. Our schedule is very difficult. We play against FC Goa and ATK Mohun Bagan. Our fixtures are difficult in comparison to other teams. (But) we will continue fighting."

Subrata Paul, who was loaned from Hyderabad FC to East Bengal in the winter transfer window, did a fantastic job for East Bengal. Marquez believes that the veteran is a good custodian but his goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani is having his best season.   

"Subrata (Paul) is a great goalkeeper. I think these kind of players have to play. The performances of Kattimani and the performances of the centre backs are very good. For me its better that they go on loan. This is football. I don't know if Subrata today played good or bad. I think that this chances in the end. But I know Subrata is great goalkeeper but I'm happy with the four goalkeepers we have and Kattimani is playing his best season," he said.