Hyderabad FC suffered a 1-0 defeat against Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) in Chennai on Wednesday. The lone goal came early, courtesy of Irfan Yadwad in the fifth minute, as Chennaiyin FC's defence held firm against Hyderabad FC's attacks.

In the post-match press conference, Hyderabad FC's head coach, Thangboi Sinto, talked about his team's performance and areas that need improvement. He emphasised the slow start of Hyderabad FC in the games so far and despite an early lead, the Marina Machans held tight to secure their first win at home this season.

"The game was about experience and I won't say newbies but I think we need to, in situations lost, have more experience… Claiming for fouls or maybe restarting quickly. We are training but some of our players were just not restarting quickly and then we had to go for the kill and put a lot of attackers forward. But credit to Chennaiyin FC's defence, they stood still and yeah, they didn't concede a goal. The message was, I think it happened to us in many matches that when we start we are, I won't say we sleep but we are not quick and sharp enough..,” Singto said.

Hyderabad FC's offensive inefficiency was a critical talking point. The team managed only one shot on target throughout the game and struggled to get behind the home team's defence.

"In football, well sometimes we have to be nasty. In a good way…You cannot be in the field. You've got to fight, you've got to win every ball. So those things and then upfront. I think every match we create but we are not good enough at the moment to score goals because one shot on target is not good enough," he said.

Hyderabad FC have lost four matches in a row this season and conceded 20 goals. 10 of these goals have come in the last 4 matches.

"It is my job to really make them gel together to create goals and maybe that's the area where I need to look at myself more and try to find solutions… It's a concern but do we want to hide from it? We can't.” he admitted.

“We just have to face it and keep working hard trying to find solutions. Maybe we play two strikers up front, maybe a change of system like somebody was asking in the last match. we have to quickly find the right balance,” Singto further explained.

Looking ahead, Singto emphasized the need to foster aggression and sharpness within the squad. Despite having chances, Hyderabad FC failed to convert.

"In some moments, we need to be quicker, sharper, and more aggressive. That’s the area to work on...When we played Mohun Bagan SG, there was one chance where Allan (Paulista) could have just spotted him quicker and there could have been a goal. And today, for example, I think Alex Saji had two chances." he said.

Hyderabad FC will next face NorthEast United FC on December 23.

Related tags:

Hyderabad FC2024-2025