HYDERABAD: Late on Saturday, Hyderabad FC took to the field against Kerala Blasters FC with a huge burden on their backs. Their debut ISL season was in a downward spiral with two consecutive crushing defeats. On the eve of the match against Kerala, Hyderabad head coach Phil Brown had asked for some time before things could turn in his team’s favour. The boys listened, as they utilised the match to get into the groove, humbling their opponents 2-1.
The level of pressure was also compounded by the fact that it was the first time in decades that a big football event was being held in the city. The bigger the occasion the higher the pressure. However, Brown used that tension to instill pride in his players.
“The most important part of tonight’s performance was character. It wasn’t that the boys played great football or anything like that. I just asked the players to wear the shirt with pride and hopefully, tonight will go a long way towards wakening the place up. I believe football was a huge thing here about thirty to forty years ago,” Brown said on Saturday post his team’s first-ever home win.
“It’s a really good feeling winning any game, but winning our first game at home is something special.”
What made the experience sweeter was the come-from-behind victory. Rahul KP had opened the account for Kerala in the 34th minute. Hyderabad netted both goals in the second half. The equaliser came in the 54th minute from Marko Stankovic via a penalty.
Brown’s boys forced Kerala to change their style of play. “The turning point for me was, when we equalised, Kerala brought the big lad (Mouhamadou Gning) up and went quite direct and then (Bartholomew) Ogbeche tried to get the pieces out of that. I don’t think that’s Kerala’s style. We forced them to change their style. So we must be doing something right.”
“All the boys worked really hard for this. About four of them took painkillers to turn up for the match.”
The crowd too played a role in the win. Though the stadium was not packed, fans did turn up in good numbers. “The atmosphere was fantastic. If we can fill the stadium we got half a chance. By definition, if you’re doing well at home, you’re going to be somewhere near the top of the table, but I’m not jumping the gun here.”