Hyderabad FC faced a 1-0 loss at the hands of ATK Mohun Bagan in the second leg of semi-final 2 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Athletic Stadium, Bambolim. However, head coach Manuel Marquez was not bothered by this defeat as his side qualified for their first Hero ISL final with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

For their first-ever major title, HFC now has to get past Kerala Blasters FC in the finals, who are also vying their first Hero ISL title after finishing runners-up twice before.

The Hero ISL 2021-22 final will take place on Sunday, March 20th, at the PJN Stadium in Goa.

Manuel Marquez addressed the media after the game. Here are some excerpts from his press conference:

How are you feeling after qualifying for finals?

Obviously, we are very happy. This season is historical for us. Now, to arrive in the final after winning against ATKMB, in my opinion, who had the best players in Hero ISL. I think that today they were better than us. But we defended well. We are very happy because it is the first time that we arrive at the final.

You lost the match today. Would that be any consideration going to the finals?

At that moment, the important thing for us was to qualify for the final. This is the reason that we are very happy because our team especially our young Indian players, as for most of them, this is the first time that they will play in a final. You have to do self-criticism and I think that today ATKMB played better than us. We were lucky as they scored very late. But today's not a day to speak about bad things today's day is for celebration as it’s the first time that we going to the finals.

How do you prepare for Kerala Blaster FC as fans are allowed in the finals?

I think that now with people in the stands it would be a good final. But I want our fans to be there, I know that Manjappada, Kerala has a lot of fans. I want to tell Hyderabad supporters that it would be very good if they can come to PJN Stadium on Sunday.