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At the Mumbai Football Arena, on the 29th of December, Hyderabad FC succumbed to yet another defeat, although they gave quite a good account of themselves throughout the encounter.
Having gone a couple of goals down, the visitors mounted a comeback to pull a goal back, although it couldn’t ultimately tilt the game in his side’s favour. Thus, the game had again portrayed the two edges of a footballing sword, a margin that Hyderabad have been on the wrong end of far too often in 2019-20. Phil Brown remarked,
We exploited the weaknesses of the opposition on numerous occasions and we did well to win the game plenty of times. I am sure even Jorge Costa would agree with me. His teams play in a manner to get over the winning line and that is something we need to learn. We had opportunities but we didn’t take them. And by the time we scored, it was too late. By conceding goals, we can’t win games and we need to address that.
He further elaborated that his side had had great opportunities to get the better of sides such as ATK, Bengaluru FC and FC Goa. However, on all those occasions, something went astray at crucial moments, meaning that they weren’t able to get the desired result.
Additionally, he also talked about how he trusted his front three to keep churning out chances, although he issued a rallying call to his defensive troops. Yet, the gravity of the situation, which spells the same as Hyderabad languishing at the bottom of the ISL table, didn’t deter Brown from portraying confidence and stating that he felt he had the requisite tools to turn things around. He opined,
If the owners stay with me, I would reward them by making changes in the transfer window that would instill a bit of pride in the football club. It hurts me that we are the bottom of the table and it hurts me when someone asks about the pride of managing Hyderabad FC.
However, despite the courage he showcased in making the above statement, one couldn’t help but ask the Englishman what ailment actually plagued the southern outfit. Brown said,
I don’t think it is physical, I don’t think it has to do with tactics nor do I feel it is a tactical problem. So, the only thing remaining is mental. But, we need to sort it out. And, if the owners are supportive, I will make sure we do something about it in the second half of the season.
And, lastly, Brown also didn’t stop short of weighing on the raging debate surrounding the standards of refereeing in the ISL. He mentioned that the players were partly responsible of putting them undue pressure, thereby creating a situation where mistakes were slightly more common. Moreover, he opened up on how the officials needed to boss these encounters, wherein any player surrounding the referee or trying to impose themselves shall be dealt with prompt bookings, in the process, acting as substantial deterrents.
Thus, at the end of a rather exhausting encounter, Brown boasted the wherewithal to openly state the flaws that existed in his machinery whereas he also highlighted the bravery to make a statement, vowing to launch a stirring comeback.
Yet, if any of that is to materialize, the Englishman has to ensure that he turns around their fortunes swiftly. Else, his strong claims might just represent that of another coach trying everything to save his job.
