Originally published in The Times of India on November 2, 2019
Hyderabad: Hyderabad FC will take on Kerala Blasters in their first home match of the season at the Gachibowli Stadium on Saturday.
Hyderabad has faced a tough start to their season with back-to-back losses, losing 0-5 to ATK and 1-3 to Jamshedpur.
The team showed positive signs in the first-half of the match against Jamshedpur on October 29, moving the ball up the field well and creating goalscoring chances. Marcelinho scored the first goal for the new club, working the ball on the right-wing and firing a low shot past the goalkeeper just before half-time.
But they conceded two quick goals an hour into the match and ended up losing the game.
Hyderabad FC head coach Phil Brown will seek to build on the encouraging signs in the first half to open the team’s point tally.
Brown said, “We are on a long haul. The players have been putting their bodies on the line. Some of our biggest players like Bobo and Rafa are on the stands. If you take the best players out of any team in the world, they will struggle to perform well. I think Robin Singh is doing a great job with Marcelinho playing alongside him. Over the two games, we did not get to the final third with equal quality and we are working on that.”
They will look towards ISL veteran Marcelinho and midfield stalwart Marko Stankovic to fire them past Kerala Blasters.
The team is reeling from an injury crisis, with forward Bobo, forward Giles Barnes, defender Rafa on the sidelines. Additionally, midfielder Nestor Gordillo is unavailable due to suspension.
Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters come to the match on the back of a 1-0 loss to Mumbai City FC on October 24.
Despite several chances for both teams, neither of the teams managed to break the deadlock for the majority of the match.
Kerala finally fell to a goal by Amine Chermiti in the 82nd minute. Forward Bartholomew Ogbeche attempted to equalize for Kerala late in the game but his close-range shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
Kerala will look towards star forward Ogbeche and midfielder Sergio Cidoncha to guide them to victory against Hyderabad.
Eelco Schattorie, Head coach, Kerala Blasters said, “The last match against Mumbai City FC was a painful loss. We are not playing the football I want yet. Hyderabad FC are struggling with injuries and we are not that much worse. There is no psychological advantage over Hyderabad despite their losses. Both teams are hungry for three points.”
Kerala Blasters will be missing defender Sandesh Jhingan for the rest of the season due to injury, while midfielder Mario Arques is injured as well.
It remains to be seen whether Hyderabad FC will recover from a disappointing start to win their first game of the season or Kerala Blasters will come back from their narrow loss to Mumbai City FC.
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