A young Hyderabad FC side continued their strong start to the 2020-21 Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) after holding formidable ATK Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 draw at the Fatorda Stadium on Friday, and Hyderabad FC assistant coach Thangboi Singto was pleased with his side’s performance and opined that his team did deserve a point.

Hyderabad went behind when ATK Mohun Bagan’s Manvir Singh broke the deadlock in the 54^th minute, however, Joao Victor converted a penalty not long after that to restore parity. “I believe a point is justified. After conceding a goal, we came back strong and earned a point so I think it was well deserved. I am very pleased with the point. Manuel [Marquez] was not available on the pitch but the motivation and the pep talk that he gave the players helped the team.

“Credit to the players who played today. They have taken their chances and will prove to be a big headache for the head coach for the next match.” Singto said at the post-match press conference.

Hyderabad FC started with quite a few young Indian players and only two foreigners but the players were toe-to-toe for the large part of the match against some of the most experienced players in the Hero ISL. “We can't say this was our best performance because we have a lot of things to improve but credit to the boys. It’s all about having confidence. When you give the players a chance in the Hero ISL, they need to prove themselves and our players did that,” said Singto.

The assistant coach also spoke highly of Hero-of-the-Match Liston Colaco. “Liston is a level-headed young player. But he needs to learn more to be more clinical. That being said it will come when you start playing more matches. He will definitely score and we are happy with him.”

Watch Thangboi Singto's Post-Match Press conference here:

Meanwhile, ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Antonio Lopez Habas felt that his side were the better team in the attacking third and deserved a victory. “The team played better in attack than the other matches this season. We had many chances but we were not able to score the goal. We gave away the match with a penalty but I think we deserved the victory today. Unfortunately, we conceded a penalty and drew the match,” Habas said after the game.

The Mariners adopted an unusual back-four strategy against Hyderabad and Habas revealed why it was done. “We need time because we need to find the balance between the attack and defence. Our next game is against Goa and they are a very good opponent. We have to prepare the team and maybe with the idea that we can win with the system we played against Hyderabad,” the Spaniard said.

Watch Antonio Lopez Habas' Post-Match Press conference here: