"The most important thing for us was to secure the 3 points" - Punjab FC coach Staikos Vergetis after away win over Hyderabad FC | ISL 2023-24

Punjab FC beat Hyderabad FC by a comfortable 2-0 scoreline in the 96th match of the Indian Super League at the Maidaan in Gachibowli on Tuesday.

Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis, however, felt that their performance was not as good as they would have hoped. In the post-match press conference, he commended Hyderabad FC for pushing his team to the brink.

“The most important thing for us today was to secure the three points, and we succeeded in (doing that). After some games, we kept a clean sheet, which is also very important. It was one of our objectives for today (getting the clean sheet),” Vergetis said.

“However, our performance was not better than what we displayed in the last couple of games, and this is because Hyderabad FC had a very good defensive organisation," he added.

“Madih Talal is a high-quality player" - Staikos Vergetis

Vergetis went as far as to say that Punjab FC's showing was worse against the Nawabs than what they displayed in their recent 4-0 loss to Jamshedpur FC.

However, the Greek tactician was all praise for his midfield trio of Nikhil Prabhu, Sahil Tavora, and Ricky Shabong, who did extremely well both with and without the ball.

"They’re very good with the ball, and they covered a lot of ground. We made a sacrifice by reducing our midfielder to play with two strikers. This is one system that has provided us with more offensive opportunities, but defensively, it has also cost us many times,” said Vergetis.

Madih Talal was one of the star players for the Shers against Hyderabad FC as his stunning goal after holding the ball and turning around to strike in the 55th minute put the game to bed.

He was also quite influential in passing the ball well and bringing others into the game.

“(Madih) Talal is a high-quality player. It is very good for Indian football to have players like Talal, as they encourage other players to come to India when they are young,” Vergetis concluded.

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