SC East Bengal played out a gritty 1-1 draw against Jamshedpur FC in their season opener in the Indian Super League. It was Franjo Prce who scored the opener for the Red and Golds from a corner. It was later cancelled out by Peter Hartley’s strike at the stroke of halftime. Both teams showed great discipline and defensive astuteness to hold out in the second half sharing a point between each other.
After the match, Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle was not happy with the ‘cheap goal’ that his side conceded. He pointed out how it was a very avoidable scenario as the Scotsman also highlighted how his team needs to be more clinical in future games to claim all three points.
“I am disappointed with the goal. I think it was avoidable. We need to look at it at the back. TP Rehenesh parried it off and the second ball dropped. Then we get caught and three-four people were bouncing off each other. That’s certainly something we feel could have avoided,” Coyle pointed out.
The Scottish tactician highlighted how East Bengal did not have many chances despite having good players like Antonio Perosevic and Daniel Chima. However, he calls out his team to be more clinical in the final third as they rued their missed chances. “We need to be more clinical because with the wonderful chances we created in the second half, we certainly feel we did enough to win the game. But of course, there are always areas to improve on,” he added.
Coyle also explained how depth and quality on the bench allowed him to bring in players like Jordan Murray and Greg Stewart from the bench. He shared how he did not have that luxury last season.
“That’s an important factor. I didn’t have that luxury last year because we were limited in terms of substitutions,” expressed Coyle. “But now we are trying to build a squad. We are not quite there yet. But we are trying to build a squad with each transfer window that we get to bring quality players to Jamshedpur. So it’s not just looking for a quick fix. It’s to have something longevity and build something at the club,” Coyle concluded.
Jamshedpur FC will now face FC Goa in their next fixture in the ISL on 26th November.
