Hyderabad FC finally had a happy ending to their fairytale season as they bagged their first-ever Indian Super League title. They defeated the Kerala Blasters on penalties on a night where both sides were inseparable even after extra time.
Hometown boy Rahul KP scored for the Kerala Blasters and handed them the very important lead. The goal sent the Kerala Blasters fans to raptures as it gave them the glimmer of hope of winning the title. But then substitute Sahil Tavora came up with an absolute blinder to restore parity for the Nizams. The match then dragged on to extra time and then to penalties. During penalties, the Hyderabad FC custodian Laxmikant Kattimani became the saviour as he came up with three saves to help his team win their first-ever ISL trophy.
Head coach Manolo Marquez was full of praise for the veteran custodian who had a hot and cold day on the big night. Marquez added how Kattimani is the perfect goalkeeper for their playing style. He highlighted how he is not only a good shot-stopper but also decent with his feet.
“For our style of play, I told every time that Kattimani is the best goalkeeper. He is not only good in goal but also with his feet. He can play outside of the box, like today in some moments. Prabhsukhan Gill played very well this season. But, in my opinion, if I have to choose one goalkeeper this season it has to be Kattimani,” Marquez said at the post-match press conference.
Speaking on Kattimani’s exclusion from the national team, Marquez spoke his mind. “I have a lot of respect for every coach. I cannot say which player can go or not (in the national team). I can only speak about the level of Kattimani and it is two years since he has been one of the best goalkeepers in India,” he further added on the hero of the finals.
Hyderabad FC were taken aback by the occasion of the finals and also by hard pressing from the Blasters mainly in midfield. Marquez shared how he told his team to be more compact and control the game better from midfield.
“We spoke about that we have to play in a more compact way because in the first half, we had too much space between our lines. We controlled the situation more in the second half. We played with a lot of personality in the second half and extra-time,” Marquez signed off.
Hyderabad FC had a fairytale campaign this time and were prime contenders for the ISL Shield as well. They were unfortunate to miss out on it due to COVID-19 but they redeemed themselves by winning ISL trophy.
