"Now we have 2 different styles of playing, and can bring out whichever we feel works" - Hyderabad FC head coach Thangboi Singto

Hyderabad FC threw away an early lead to draw their fifth ISL game of the season 1-1 against Bengaluru FC at the Maidaan in Gachibowli on Saturday. The Nawabs seemed to be playing with carefree abandon in the first half but had to retreat hastily in the second when Simon Grayson's men got into their heads.

The Yellow and Blacks, who tried a new formation of 3-4-2-1, were served extremely well by their young players, including Mohammad Yasir and Mark Zothanpuia. The latter, brought in to play in the left wing-back's position, impressed all and sundry with the calm head upon his shoulders.

Speaking to the media after the game on Saturday, Hyderabad's head coach Thangboi Singto was all praise for his wards.

"The young players in our squad have done extremely well. We will back them and support them in the future as well; this is the crux of what we are building. Mark (Zothanpuia) was fantastic today. I thought that he had been ready for quite some time now, and given the opportunity today, he made the most of it. We felt that we could use his technical skills to good advantage, and he did not disappoint us at all. He listens to what we say. We always believe that when it comes to young players, you either praise them when they do well or encourage them when they don't," said Singto.

The new formation of playing three center-backs in defense (Oswaldo Alanis, Nim Dorjee Tamang, and Chinglensana Singh) worked well for the hosts in the first half and caught the Blues by surprise. Zothanpuia and Nikhil Poojary played in the wing-back positions.

"We wanted to try a new system today (three at the back) and to a great extent, it worked. It does not hurt to try new formations and systems, and we could see a visible difference today. Now, we have two different styles of playing, and can bring out whichever we feel works for us," Singto stated.

"Since we were trying the new system, we also had to select the right personnel for the job. Therefore, quite a few players missed out on being a part of the starting lineup. However, we now know which player can thrive under which system and we can use this information accordingly," he added.

"Jonathan Moya has bundles of experience" - Thangboi Singto

One of the key struggles for Hyderabad this season has been to score goals. Although Mohammad Yasir beat the offside trap wonderfully to score the first on Saturday, there has been a general lack of clinicality in front of goal.

New signing Jonathan Moya, who played as the lone centre-forward for the Nawabs on Saturday came in for heavy criticism owing to his poor presence on the ball and lack of work rate without it.

In the first half, the Costa Rican failed to put even two passes together and was constantly overwhelmed by the physicality of Bengaluru center-backs Slavko Damjanovic and Aleksandar Jovanovic.

The tipping point came later on in the second half when he missed a simple header that would have given Hyderabad the lead and three points. However, it was his unwillingness to get into challenges with the opposition defenders that drew the most sighs from the faithful at the Maidaan.

Singto, however, backed his striker wholeheartedly.

"(Jonthan) Moya has bundles of experience with him and even if he seemed rusty today, we know how hard he works in training and how good he is. We kept him on the pitch because we felt that even one good shot from him would have turned the game around. Hopefully, he can use these minutes and help the side going forward. We have complete faith in him," he insisted.