Marquez’s side has collected 11 points from their last five games and are sitting at the second spot, just four points behind leaders Mumbai City FC.
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Hyderabad FC boss Manuel Marquez has said that his side will fight till the end for the top two spots after their entertaining 1-1 draw against FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) fixture at GMC Athletic Stadium on Saturday. Marquez’s side has collected 11 points from their last five games and are sitting at the second spot, just four points behind leaders Mumbai City FC. The Nizams put their nose in front through Joel Chianese before Airam Cabrera equalized for FC Goa.
Also read: Indian Super League: FC Goa and Hyderabad FC share spoils in a thrilling 1-1 draw
FULL TIME in Bambolim and it ends as it started!
Plenty of action but just two goals in it and the points are shared.#FCGHFC #ThisIsOurGame #మనహైదరాబాద్ #HyderabadFC pic.twitter.com/rApm8x6wUv
— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) December 18, 2021
Both teams played an attacking brand of football and throughout the match tested the goalkeepers. Marquez said after the match, “ I think that FC Goa started better than us in the game, but with the pass of the minute game was very equal. I think that the score is fair, one point for both the teams. We fought a lot on the ground, we know that every game between Goa and us is like a war but we have a good relationship with them off the field. I think that was a fair score.”
FC Goa had the majority of ball possession and their midfielders controlled the game pretty well. The likes of Alberto Noguera and Edu Bedia were able to deliver defense splitting passes but Laxmikant Katttimani did a decent job between the posts to avert the danger on multiple occasions.
Although Goa has been playing a good attacking brand of football, they haven’t got the desired results so far in the season and are languishing at the seventh position in the table with just two wins from six games.
When asked about Goa’s position in the points table, Marquez said, “For sure that they will finish in the top four or very close. They have very good players, even at this moment they don’t have very important players for today’s game like Jorge Ortiz, Brandon Fernandes, and other players, but our team is the same we were without Edu Garcia because the Hero ISL didn’t allow him to play today. I think that every team has injury issues.”
Hyderabad has had a good start to the competition winning three of the six opening games and losing just one. Last season, Hyderabad missed qualification to the play-offs to FC Goa by just two points. The Nizam’s have impressed the experts so far with their fast and exciting brand of football. The full back’s are a pivotal part of Marquez’s plans. The likes of Ashish Rai and Akash Mishra have been causing all sorts of problems down their respective flanks with their pace and relentless running.
Marquez added, “I think we are equal in this competition, Now at this moment we are second but maybe you lose one game and you are the fifth or sixth. Then we are at the beginning of the competition, of course, we prefer to be with 11 points than with five or six now. But I think that we have to continue step by step, game by game, and let’s see what happened but Hyderabad FC will fight till the end for the top two spots.”
Hyderabad will next play bottom-placed SC East Bengal at the GMC Athletic Stadium on Thursday while FC Goa will take on Odisha FC at the Tilak Maidan on Friday.
