ISL: Hyderabad FC lack in character, says Manuel Marquez after draw against Chennaiyin
Jan 14, 2022
Panaji (Goa) [India], January 14 : Hyderabad FC head coach Manuel Marquez was critical of his side after they drew 1-1 against Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Thursday.
Javier Siverio cancelled out Mohammad Sajid Dhot's opener for Chennaiyin FC in the first half but Hyderabad FC missed several opportunities to win all three points.
Marquez put it down to a lack of character among his players. In the post-match press conference, the Spaniard said: "This game showed the character of the team. In some moments we created clear chances. In some other moments, when the other team created the team the team didn't react well because it is a team without character."
"In the end, Chennaiyin FC put many crosses and this is something that can't be trained. Either you have the character or you don't. It's true that the Indian players, not the foreigners, are very young and it's a difficult situation. It was very similar to the game in this stadium against Odisha FC last season. In some moments we played very well, in some moments, we played very badly. But I think this year, the team has less character," he added.
The coach also added that team didn't miss the absence of Bartholomew Ogbeche in the starting XI. He said: "Yes. Javier Siverio was I think the Hero of the Match. He was the best player on our team. Maybe the doubt now is if it would be better to play both together. But then we would need to change the system. But I felt Siverio played very well. I didn't miss Bart (Ogbeche) in the game today."
Hyderabad will next clash with Jamshedpur FC on January 17.