ISL 2022-23: "My love affair with the ISL started in Guwahati, and it is always a pleasure to come back here" - Hyderabad FC striker Bartholomew Ogbeche

NorthEast United FC suffered their second defeat of the season at the hands of last season's champions Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League. The Nizams defeated the Highlanders 3-0 in what was the second game of the season for both sides on October 13.

NorthEast United FC were playing their first home game of the season and came into the game trying to get their first points of the season. Hyderabad FC, meanwhile, came into the game trying to secure their first victory of the season.

Bartholomew Ogbeche opened the scoring for Hyderabad FC in the 13th minute.

The Highlanders failed to test the Nizams' goalkeeper in the first half.

Hyderabad FC continued their domination in the second half and scored two more goals in the second half. Halicharan Narzary scored in the 69th minute, while Borja Gonzalez scored in the 73rd minute to secure a 3-0 victory for Hyderabad FC.

Ogbeche, the all-time highest goal scorer in the ISL, had another good game today as he scored the opening goal of the match. The Nigerian striker could have scored a brace, but his second-half penalty was saved by NorthEast United FC's goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.

Speaking to Sportskeeda after the game, Ogbeche said:

"My love affair with the ISL started in Guwahati. It is always a pleasure to come back here. It is a special place for me. But I came here to do a job, and I got the job done."

Meanwhile, addressing the media after the game, NorthEast United FC's assistant coach Paul Groves shared his thoughts regarding what went wrong in the game. He said:

"When you are playing against Hyderabad FC the last thing you want to do is chase the game. Unfortunately, we had to do that, and we were punished."

NorthEast United FC were poor defensively today, and the 56-year-old had the following to say about the defensive lapses in his side:

"Well, first and foremost, we have to give them credit for the way they played. They forced us into committing personal erros, and their players capitalized on those mistakes."

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"Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in football" - NorthEast United FC's assistant coach Paul Groves after loss against Hyderabad FC

Two rounds of games have been played in the ISL 2022-23 season, and NorthEast United FC are the only team not to score a goal this season.

The assistant coach of the Highlanders, Paul Groves, said the following regarding his side's inability to score goals:

"Look, we have been creating chances, it would be a different story if we didn't create chances. Scoring goals is the hardest thing in football. Our forwards are getting chances, and well we will finish them off hopefully in the upcoming games. Sharpness in front of the goal is the last thing that comes to a player after becoming match fit."

Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez was a happy man after securing a 3-0 victory against NorthEast United FC. Speaking about the game, the Spanish coach had the following to say:

"NorthEast United FC hit the crossbar in the ending moments of the game. It was important for us to keep a clean sheet, and I am happy we did that. Overall if we look at the game I think we deserved to win. We had overall control of the game throughout the 90minutes."

Manolo Marquez didn't want to draw parallels with last season's performance and their goal-scoring run as he felt the side were much more clinical last season.

Hyderabad FC coach praised young left back Manoj Mohammed for his performance today (Image courtesy: ISL Media)

Speaking about left-back Manoj Mohammed, Manolo Marquez said:

"We had to deal with the injury to Akash Mishra who is the Indian National team's left back. We signed Manoj this season, and in the two games he has played, Manoj has shown that he has the capability and quality to play in the ISL."

NorthEast United FC will next host East Bengal on October 20 while Hyderabad FC will host Bengaluru FC on October 22.