After a thumping 4-2 victory over NorthEast United FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Friday, Hyderabad FC head coach Manuel Marquez said his side deserved the win as they played bravely.
Hyderabad took the lead through goals from Aridane Santana (3') and Joel Chianese (36') before a penalty from Federico Gallego (45') and Benjamin Lambot's strike (45') helped NEUFC draw parity before the break. Hyderabad settled the tie in their favour in the second half through late goals from substitute Liston Colaco (85', 90').
"I was very angry at HT. We controlled the game and we conceded two goals. In five minutes, we lost control. In the dressing room, I told them that we have to play again like at the beginning. We were brave and deserved the win," Marquez said after the game.
"I am happy with the game in general except for the 10 minutes in the first half," he added.
The first half was a dramatic and open-ended contest with both sides creating ample chances. The Highlanders fashioned more opportunities and despite a two-goal deficit, fought their way back with two goals late in the opening half.
It just took three minutes for Hyderabad to break the deadlock as they scored their fastest goal this season.
"Our team is very young. We have games that we score first and then games where other teams score. If we want to a great team, we have to learn to manage all situations. They had a clear chance but we scored the fourth goal. We deserved to score before we actually did," the head coach said.
Marquez lauded striker Liston Colaco, who scored a brace in the final minutes of the game coming as a substitute and changed the result of the encounter.
"Every day people ask me about Liston. It is my favourite question. I love him, he is a fantastic guy, he will be a fantastic player. He was injured two or three times, and he was not ready for ninety minutes. When he entered the pitch, the other team was tired and he took advantage," he said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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