"Football is about confidence" - Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez feels win against Chennaiyin FC was 'important' for the team

Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez believes his team needed their ISL 2022-23 win against Chennaiyin FC, while adding that scoring more than once was key as well. The Nizams beat the Marina Machans 3-1 at the 'Marina Arena' in Chennai on Saturday, December 3.

Marquez's men entered the game on the back of successive 1-0 defeats against Kerala Blasters FC and ATK Mohun Bagan. They had also scored just 10 times in seven matches, a far cry from the team that recorded 43 goals in 20 league-stage matches last season.

Four of their five victories prior to the match against Chennaiyin were by a 1-0 margin, which also caused concern among fans. However, Halicharan Narzary, Chinglensana Singh and Borja Gonzalez all got on the scoresheet on Saturday to help the team register a clinical win.

At his post-match press conference, Marquez was asked by Sportskeeda about the importance of getting goals from players across the pitch. The Hyderabad boss responded:

"Very important because in the last 6-7 games, we scored [only] one goal. We won 3-0 in Guwahati and then we won four consecutive games 1-0. The two defeats were the same, 1-0."

He continued:

"To score three goals today is important as football is about confidence. I have one sentence my players are tired [of hearing], which I repeat constantly: one normal player with confidence is better than one very good player without it."

Marquez believes some teams have shown the Nizams more respect this season following their title success earlier this year. He indicated that this could be a reason for the drop in their attacking output, saying:

"It was important to score goals because we are a team that, last season, scored goals without [creating] too much. This season, in the last [few] games, we had more possession against Kerala, ATK - maybe it's the respect the other teams have for our team, if I have to search for the positives."

The Spanish tactician added that Hyderabad desperately needed a win on Saturday after losing twice in a row:

"When you are in a bad moment, you need to win one game. We know perfectly that our first half was not good. It's true that Chennaiyin had more of the ball, but I think the more clear chances were for our team in the first half."

The Nizams notably hit the crossbar towards the end of the first half through Narzary while also forcing quite a few blocks from the Chennaiyin defense. The hosts, meanwhile, saw a couple of decent efforts saved by Gurmeet Singh in an evenly contested opening 45 minutes.

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"We will rest but rest on top" - Hyderabad FC coach Marquez keen to enter break on top of ISL standings

With their win over Chennaiyin FC, Hyderabad FC moved back to second in the ISL 2022-23 table. They have now picked up 19 points from nine matches and are just two behind Mumbai City FC, who have played the same number of games.

Up next, the Nizams will host East Bengal on December 9, while the Islanders will not be in action during that matchweek. A win in that contest will see Manolo Marquez's men return to the summit of the standings ahead of their two-week break.

Marquez believes this will be Hyderabad's goal ahead of next week's clash, saying:

"I don't want to speak about ifs, but now we are second in the table and Mumbai don't play next week. If we win our game, we will rest, but rest on top."

He reiterated, however, how closely contested the ISL has been this season in response to an earlier query:

"As my colleague and friend [Mumbai City coach] Des Buckhingam said, we are all still not in the heart of the competition. All the teams will have to keep going and we'll see what happens because it seems there will be a hard fight till the end of the season."

Marquez concluded by stating that Hyderabad needed to stay mentally resilient going forward:

"Finally, not just in football, but mentality is very important to everything in life."

Following their break after the match against East Bengal, Hyderabad FC will return to action on December 23 against Bengaluru FC.