Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez was happy with his side’s performance as they recorded a narrow 1-0 victory against Kerala Blasters FC in their final league game of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL), at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Kochi, on Sunday.

Borja Herrera scored the only goal of the game in the 29th minute of the game when the Spaniard received a beautiful low cross before sending the ball past Kerala Blasters FC keeper Prabhsukhan Gill. Hyderabad FC finished their league campaign with 13 wins, three draws, and only four defeats. Marquez looked really satisfied with his team’s performance as he shed light on the result in Kochi.

 

“We won in a very difficult stadium. It's fantastic, it’s marvellous to play in front of all these Kerala people,” Marquez said in the post-match press conference.

“The team was okay, Kerala were fifth, and we were second before the game. I know that it was not a fantastic game, but I think we needed to play a game with this spirit that we showed today,” he said.

“In the last game, we conceded easy goals, today was a good performance. We're very happy with the win,” Marquez continued.

Hyderabad FC will be back in action on 9th March for the first leg of the two-legged semi-final against either ATK Mohun Bagan or Odisha FC. Marquez insisted that the opponent will be in good shape, playing a game more than them and he also suggested they also need to keep working hard in the training session.

“The fantastic thing is that we are in the top two,” Marquez stated.

“The opponent has to play the last game before they play against us. They will arrive in very good condition. So as a team, we need to keep training (during this gap),” he added.

Talisman Bartholomew Ogbeche missed the game against Kerala Blasters FC, but the Spanish head coach assured that it was just a knock and he would be available for the semi-final.

“(There) was a problem in the last training session but nothing serious. He (Bartholomew Ogbeche) will be surely ready (for the semi-finals). Maybe if today was a must-win game for us then I think he could've played,” Marquez said.