Hyderabad FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Odisha FC in Match 64 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday. Halicharan Narzary scored his fourth goal of the season to give Hyderabad the lead but a goal from Cole Alexander ensured at least a point for the Bhubaneswar-based club.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Hyderabad head coach Manuel Marquez was of the opinion that his team should have sealed the victory in the first half. “It was two points dropped in the first half and one point deserved in the second half. At halftime, the score should have been 3-0 [for Hyderabad]. But in the second half, they [Odisha] had very clear chances to win the game. Usually, when you have so many chances, you think that maybe the game should have been finished in the first half,” he said.

The Spanish head coach went on to admit that his side may have been tired in the second half. “During halftime, we spoke about scoring the second goal because then the game would be over. The injury of Halicharan also may be affected the team. I think the problem in the second half is that we were very tired. For me, the important thing is that we arrived here with 16 points and now we have 17,” Marquez said after the game.

Watch Manuel Marquez's Post-Match Press conference here:

Meanwhile, Odisha head coach Stuart Baxter was happy with the way his team played, especially in the second half. “We started the game very well. We set up to press high and I think we caught them by surprise. But when they started to get out of that pressure and get the balls into the wide areas, we were a little bit stretched.

“In the second half, we changed the way we pressed at the front. As soon as we lost the ball, we reset better. They did not have the joy that they did in the first half and I thought our attacking play was very good,” Baxter said after the game.

The Englishman was impressed with the resilient nature of his young guns and believes that a win was there for the taking for his team. “I am impressed with the younger lads; they don't fold. They know the pressure that they are under. They get a game plan and they stick to it. We are not an opponent who can be put away. We could have easily won the game,” the Odisha head coach said.

Watch Stuart Baxter's Post-Match Press conference here: