Jamshedpur FC boss Aidy Boothroyd was pleased with the performance after they managed a 2-2 draw against FC Goa at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur on Thursday. It hasn’t been an ideal season for the Red Miners and the Englishman was happy to share the spoils with the Gaurs.

In fact, Jamshedpur FC could have got all three points if Iker Guarrotxena hadn’t scored at the fag end of the match. The half-time ended in 1-1 after Iker Guarrotxena scored at both ends of the goal. However, Ishan Pandita gave a 2-1 lead to his team in the 50th minute but it was canceled by Guarrotxena in the end.

Sharing his thoughts on the match, Aidy Boothroyd said, “It was a very good game from a neutral point of view. We were really good in the first half. We were by far the better team. We got the goal and worked hard to get the second one. I thought we got tired towards the end of the game, which is going to happen when we have players returning from injuries. We broke the losing cycle. Upwards and onwards from here.”

Aidy Boothroyd believes there are more goals to come from Ishan Pandita, who has shown all the skills to go a long way in his career. The gaffer revealed Pandita wants to be consistently part of the starting XI.

He added, “Ishan Pandita doesn’t want to be the super sub anymore. He wants to be a player that wants to start and does well. I have given him an opportunity. He knows what we have to do for the team. He is a brilliant runner and he will score goals, the more he plays. The goal he scored was an opportunistic’s goal but I’m sure there will be plenty more. I am really pleased with him and every player, particularly the younger players that came in. It was an excellent experience for them to be on the pitch and be the best players.”

Boothroyd added they were tired towards the end and the players were disappointed with the result as they could have won their second match of the season.

He concluded, “I think it was because we worked really hard in the game to get an upper hand and to get momentum and it swung back the longer the game went. We were tired. The players are really disappointed with the result. But looking at the performance, if we take the two errors out which were avoidable errors, we are in the right direction. Overall, really pleased with the individuals in the team.”

Jamshedpur FC will next take on Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on January 3.