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'We could have scored three goals before half-time - Hyderabad boss Manuel Marquez rues missed chances
The Spanish coach suggested that fatigue and injury to star player Halicharan Narzary affected the team in the second half...
Hyderabad squandered a first-half lead to drop crucial points against Odisha in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Tuesday at the Tilak Maidan.
The Nizams were the better side in the first half and had taken the lead through Halicharan Narzary's 13th-minute strike but Cole Alexander's 51st-minute equaliser brought Odisha back into the game.
Coach Manuel Marquez Roca felt that while his team should have finished the game in the first half itself, Odisha had better chances to win the tie in the second half.
"It was one point deserved in the second half and two points deserved in the first half. At half time, we could have gone up 3-0 and finish the game but in the second half, they had very clear chances to win the game," said the Hyderabad manager.
The Spanish rued the missed chances in the first half but also suggested that the injury to goalscorer Halicharan Narzary and the overall fatigue of the squad affected the team's performance in the second half.
"In the first half, we scored the goal and Arshdeep saved two chances. We didn't have problems in defence. We spoke about these things at the break. If we could score a second goal we would have practically finished the game. But I think not only the equaliser but also the injury of Halicharan also affected the team.
"We let Odisha come back into the game of course because we did not score the goals in the first half. The problem in the second half was that we were very tired. All the teams are very tired because it is very difficult to play every three or four days. It is not an excuse, it is a reality. We played against a strong team like Mumbai just 72 hours ago."
Halicharan Narzary is the joint Indian top goalscorer with four goals already this season. When asked about the secret behind Narzary's resurgence this season, the Hyderabad coach said, "Sometimes you score a lot of goals in one season and fail in another season. But for me, it is not just the four goals he (Halicharan Narzary) scored, he could have scored more goals even today. I am very happy with the entire team. Halicharan has these chances because of his teammates who pass the ball to him."
