Hyderabad FC head coach Manuel Marquez feels that result is not the true reflection of how the match was played, as his team succumbed to a 0-1 loss against Kerala Blasters FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Sunday.
Alvaro Vazquez's strike in the 42nd minute of the game was all it took for Kerala Blasters FC to bag three points and move to the top of the league table for the time being. Meanwhile, Hyderabad FC, despite several efforts failed to register an equaliser in the second half of the game.
At the post-match press conference, Marquez when asked if Hyderabad FC deserved to lose the match after their performance, the head coach said: "Obviously no. I think that we played better than a lot of days. Especially in the opening minutes of the first half. And in the second half we controlled the game totally, but they have very very good players, especially offensive players and they can score in one moment, even if you are attacking more than them."
When asked about the top-four finish, the Spaniard said: "All the six, seven teams, eight teams, I think that we are candidates (for top-four finish), It is a very very equal game. I don't want to repeat, but sometimes we forget who these teams are (Kerala Blasters FC and Hyderabad FC). We (Hyderabad FC), we are trying to grow in football. Kerala Blasters has a fantastic fan following. I think that all the teams have possibilities. Yeah, I'm not happy because we lost the game. But I think that the game was very good in terms of football."
Kerala has now stretched their unbeaten streak to nine games, moving to the top of the points table with a better goal difference than Mumbai City FC, both being on 17 points from 10 games. This is the first time they went top of the ISL table this season and also the first time since the last seven years.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, saw their eight-game unbeaten run come to an end as they dropped to the third in the table having 16 points from 10 matches.
( With inputs from ANI )
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