"The pace of Noah Sadaoui killed Hyderabad FC" - FC Goa coach Manolo Marquez after massive win over former club | ISL 2023-24

FC Goa beat Hyderabad FC by a massive 4-0 scoreline in gameweek 21 of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Fatorda Stadium in Madgaon, Goa, on Friday, April 5.

Head coach Manolo Marquez, speaking to the media after the game, commended his players and said that although the first half seemed rusty, they came back well in the second.

“It was difficult to improve the performance of the first half. The first half was without a base. Nothing, only pace. Even though we had chances in the first half with (Laxmikant) Kattimani (making saves) and some mistakes in the last third (from Hyderabad FC), one good action of Alex Saji saved the goal (from Mohammad Yasir) but we didn’t play a good first half. In fact, we played bad,” he said.

“In the second half, the pace of Noah killed Hyderabad FC. I feel that when you score one goal, you don’t know why, but everything changes. We scored more goals. Players that played bad in the first half, in the second half they played good. Carlos (Martinez) deserved the goal because he worked a lot and he had the chances during the game. (Mohammad) Yasir (got) two more assists. But obviously, Noah was the key in the second half,” Marquez added.

"I told Noah, "If you score, please don’t remove the jersey"" - Manolo Marquez

Noah Sadaoui's hat-trick changed the game for FC Goa on Friday, with centre-forward Carlos Martinez adding another towards the latter stages to seal all three points on offer.

The Gaurs had five players with three yellow cards before the game, with centre-back Odei Onaindia being one of them. As a result, the Spaniard was substituted in the second half.

“We have five players with three yellow cards. There was an option to play with Rowllin (Borges) but we decided finally about the squad (and whom to play). We decided not to play Rowllin. We substituted (out) Yasir, Odei and Nim (because of the yellow cards). Out of all the players, I told Noah, "If you score, please don’t remove the jersey." And that’s all. It was about winning the game and let’s see now what happens in the next two games,” Marquez stated.