"When we scored the second goal, we stopped being hungry" - NorthEast United FC coach Juan Pedro Benali after 2-2 draw with Hyderabad FC | ISL 2023-24

NorthEast United FC's head coach Juan Pedro Benali tore into his players for not being hungry enough and disrespecting Hyderabad FC in their 2-2 draw in the ISL at the Maidaan in Gachibowli on Monday, March 4.

The Highlanders were 2-0 up till the 70th minute thanks to a goal from Parthib Gogoi and an own goal from Alex Saji but blew away that lead as Makan Chothe and Joao Victor scored for the Nawabs within six minutes of each other.

Speaking to the media after the game, Benali sounded distraught.

“You know, the problem is when we scored the second goal, we stopped being hungry. We disrespected the opponent. And when you don't respect the opponent, even if you're 2-0 up, you receive, and we deserved to receive the two goals,” stated Benali.

“(After our second goal) we just stopped playing. We stopped pressing, we started walking, we thought that the job was done. But the game is a hundred minutes (long). It’s not even 90 minutes in this moment. And, well, big slap (to us) and congratulations to Hyderabad,” he added.

“Thank you to ISL. They think about (the) players" - Juan Pedro Benali

The last 20 minutes of the game saw frenzied action in both halves, with both teams trying to get a winning goal out of the melee. However, neither Hyderabad nor NorthEast were able to do so.

Benali seemed disappointed with the fact that his players did not retain their composure to score the winning goal and move up the league table.

“When you're stressed, you don't have that calmness, you don't have that cold blood that the real strikers have. We just got very nervous. We panicked in the area. That's why we couldn't finish it. It’s just that we need that calmness. That is what we're looking for. The problem is we didn't do the job before (when we had the chance to kill the game). Then after, it gets harder and harder,” said Benali.

The ISL's scheduling came in for sarcastic treatment by the Spaniard, who mock-applauded the league for giving teams so little time to prepare for their games. For reference, the Highlanders have less than two days before they play Punjab FC at home on Thursday.

In those two days, one will be consumed by traveling as the team makes their way back to Guwahati from Hyderabad, where they played on Monday.

“Thank you to ISL. They think about players and they think about having to play very nice games, to see nice rhythm and to make people watch good games. That’s why they put it every two-three days,” he signed off.