ISL 7: Marquez 'very proud' of players after draw against ATK Mohun Bagan
Feb 23, 2021
Panaji (Goa) [India], February 23 : After a draw against ATK Mohun Bagan, Hyderabad FC's head coach Manuel Marquez praised his team saying that he is "very proud of the players".
ATK Mohun Bagan salvaged a point against Hyderabad FC after a 2-2 draw in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Monday.
After Hyderabad were reduced to 10 men in the 5th minute following a straight red for Chinglensana Singh, Aridane Santana gave them the lead before Manvir Singh equalised for the Mariners in the second half. Substitute Roland Alberg made it two for the Telangana-based club but Pritam Kotal netted an injury time goal as the teams shared the spoils.
At the post-match press conference, Marquez said: "It is impossible to be prouder of these players. They are sad at this moment because the win was very close. We are very proud of the players. Let's see if we can win against Goa on Sunday."
Marquez believes that it will be a great achievement if Hyderabad make it to the semi-finals. "We really wanted the three points but that is the game. We can still make it to the top four. This team never gives up. If they make it to the top four, it will be a fantastic achievement, but if we do not arrive, I will still be very proud of the players," he said.
While assessing his side's heroic 10-man performance, Marquez added: "When you play with 10 players, it is more difficult for the opponent because you play with everyone behind the ball. But the problem was that we played with 10 men for too much time. We received the red card in the fifth minute. Against a side like ATK Mohun Bagan, it was a very difficult challenge."
