ISL 2023-24: It was a game of two halves: Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto

Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto feels his team could not grab their chances and it could have been a different story if they had done it after their 1-1 draw against Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League at the GMC Balayogi Stadium, Hyderabad FC on Saturday.

The home team took the team in the 35th minute when Mohammad Yasir scored. However, the Blues bounced back after Ryan Williams equalized in the 58th minute. Both teams could not find the back of the net after that as they shared the spoils.

Hyderabad FC took three shots on target whereas Bengaluru took four attempts on the goal.

“As I mentioned before, playing against Bengaluru FC is always tough because they have a lot of experience in the ISL. They have some of the best Indian players,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“I think it was a game of two halves. For me, the team, the first 20 minutes, I think we are really dominating in terms of creating, in terms of going forward. Then I think BFC came back and they deserved the goal… In the second half, I think Bengaluru FC came back, and they were really strong in the second half. But there were phases in the play when I think we had three probably contributed chances, one from Moya, Hitesh (the flicker) and those (others). If those were taken, I think it would have been a different result.”

Mark Zothanpuia made his ISL debut for the Nizams and the defender did a fine job for the team as a wing-back.

On his thoughts of using Zothanpuia from his unusual role as a wingback, Singto said, “He (Zothanpuia) definitely brought a different dimension to the game.”

“We’ve known Mark (Zothanpuia) for the last three, four years; I’ve seen him here. He was more of a midfield creative player. But today, it was three jobs for him. One was to attack at the right time, one was to keep the ball in the midfield, (and the third was to) try to connect with Joao Victor, Sahil Tavora, Jonathan Moya, Felipe (da Silva Amorim). And, when the team needs you, we defend like that. And that’s what he did. Credit goes to the boy, and I think credit goes to the senior players around him for motivating the young boy. I think that’s important when a young boy plays out of position, and when he does something good, praise (him). When he does something wrong, motivate (him). I think that’s key.”

Hyderabad FC got off to a horrid start as they lost their first three matches and they have managed two draws in their last two games. Singto has played with a 3-5-2 formation in the previous two matches.

Speaking on the same, Singto said, “I think in this modern game, they (players) do understand the needs, the requirements when needed to play different positions or a different system or different formations. I think the players understand well.”

“And I think the training, the planning, the videos, and the explanations were crystal clear… I think it’s all teamwork, and yeah, I’ve been mentioning that the last week has been one of the better days. We trained well, and I think we exhibited today (how we need to function) as a team, as a whole (unit). Again, I don’t want to say that we need to score upfront because we create chances. Our case today may be lesser than BFC, but the goal we created was really, really good.”

Hyderabad FC will next take on Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday.