Shameel Chembakath urges players to improve defensively after loss against Mohun Bagan Super Giant

Hyderabad FC interim head coach Shameel Chembakath has urged his players to improve their defensive game after a 0-3 loss against Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata in the ongoing Indian Super League 2024-25 on Thursday.

Sapic scored an own goal in the ninth minute of the game whereas Tom Aldred doubled the team’s lead before the first half. Jason Cummings then scored after the break to give a comprehensive victory to his team.

Meanwhile, the Nizams had 55% possession and took seven shots on target but failed to find the back of the net.

“Overall, I’m impressed with the boys—the way they played and how we wanted them to play. Of course, there were silly mistakes in the opening minutes; that’s something we should have avoided,” Chembakath said during the post-match press conference.

“Otherwise, we could have controlled the tempo of the game, and of course, it’s a learning experience for us to go ahead with the upcoming matches,” he added.

“When you play against a team like Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the table-toppers right now, we had a game plan. Of course, it worked well, but defensively, maybe we need to improve more,” he continued further.

Chembakath feels it is important for his team to reduce the errors in the field to produce the results.

“There are a lot of aspects which we saw in the stats too. If you see the number of passes, and passing accuracy, we’ve been dominating, but there are some errors which we need to correct. That will be the focus for the coming matches,” he stated.

The gaffer feels it is crucial for the players to convert their chances and make the most of them.

“Yeah, this (converting chances) is one of the things we need to improve on in the coming training sessions. Of course, when you see a lot of young players coming off the bench, they need to be more experienced in such a match against a good, strong team.”

“Abhijith PA is one of the ones who came in as the attacking midfielder in Cy Goddard’s position. I think he did well, and he got a chance in the last few minutes. I think we need to work on this more,” he commented.

Hyderabad FC will next take on FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on Wednesday.