Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle has stated that the last match counts for nothing and the second leg of the semifinal will be played between two attacking teams, that will be going out all guns blazing at each other. Kerala Blasters FC had taken a 1-0 lead in the first-leg after Sahal Samad had scored for the club against Jamshedpur FC on Friday.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC had beaten Kerala Blasters by 3-0 in the league stage back in February whereas the other match of the season between these two teams had ended in a 1-1 draw back in December.
Jamshedpur FC had topped the league stage after 13 wins from 20 matches and had also clinched the Winners League Shield. Thus, they were the most consistent team and they will look to bounce back stronger.
Speaking on the team’s approach for the second leg, Owen Coyle said in the pre-match press conference, “We won’t be changing our approach. Anybody that watches Jamshedpur knows that we go every game with a winning mentality, and we have to win this match if we wish to progress to the finals and for that to happen, we need to score those two goals. In terms of our approach, similar to our final game of the season (league phase) against ATK Mohun Bagan, we knew that even a small margin or loss would have resulted in us being the Champions and the best team in the country, but we still approached the game to win the match, so our approach won’t change.”
He added, “We’re very respectful of our opponents, we know they are a good team, but even we know that if we are at our best, it’s a game we can win. We’re looking forward to the game as it is, an opportunity for us to have a quick turnaround in which we were hurt as the loss broke down our winning streak which earned us the league shield making us the best team in the country.”
Jamshedpur FC has also been plagued by injuries at this crucial stage of the tournament, which has added to their woes.
Speaking on the same, Coyle added, “Ultimately, we can only play players that are fit and available. We are ready to play the game, particularly the challenge we have with Len [Seiminlen Doungel] missing the game because there’s another wide player coming in the back with Boris, Komal and Farukh missing from the squad. So, we’re decimated in the wide areas, and everybody knows we love to play wide with our wingers which makes us an exciting team to watch as we get the wingers forward, taking full-backs on and being exciting. We will pick a very positive attack-minded team and we need to concentrate on the ones we do have available. So, it’s a blow to have those players missing for the game but it’s an aspect of football. Sometimes there might be players missing due to injuries, suspensions, and other different things but we have to carry forward with everything we’ve got with a smile on our faces to go and win a really tough game.”
Jamshedpur FC will look to bring their best in the second-leg and if they can repeat their league stage performance, they will be able to go through to the final. However, first, they need to find the equalizer as soon as possible in the second leg. The match will be played at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Tuesday.
