Hyderabad's Javier Gurri Lopez: We lost control in the second half

Hyderabad FC failed to get a result against Bengaluru FC on Friday as they did against Mumbai City in their previous encounter a week ago.

Marko Stankovic, who had converted from the spot against the Islanders in the 90th minute, was denied from the spot at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu kept a record ninth clean sheet of the season.

Sandhu was at hand to keep out Bobo off the rebound from the saved spot-kick and also pulled off a stunning save against substitute Liston Colaco at the death. In the end, it was Bengaluru full-back Nishu Kumar's seventh-minute strike that proved to be the winner.

More teams

"Bengaluru are having a great season. I am proud of my team," said Hyderabad interim coach Javier Gurri Lopez after their 11th defeat of the season.

"It is not easy to play here in Bengaluru. We played very well in the first half and controlled a lot of the ball. We attacked very well. In the second half, we lost control and they had some clear chances. Our team showed that they can believe and create chances in the end," he added.

The Spaniard was critical of the gap of three minutes from the time the referee pointed towards the 12 yards mark till the moment Stankovic dispatched his shot.

"I think that this is possible only in the ISL. It had been three-to-four minutes and we could not take the penalty. This is not good for the taker. We put a lot of pressure on him. It was a clear penalty and we lost the good opportunity," he remarked.

Lopez was particularly impressed with Nikhil Poojary's contributions on the day as he commented, "He can play in all positions and his attitude is very good. He was very good in the one-on-ones and he was moving very well. In the second half, we played three defenders and five midfielders and he was tired. Overall I think he had a great game."