Jamshedpur FC

It was a day to forget for Jamshedpur FC as they were handed their first defeat of the season at home by the Stallions. The home side created a flurry of chances in the first-half but failed to make the most of them while the visitors held on and executed their game plan to perfection and in doing so, pulled off a 4 - 1 win at the Furnace.

Both team's plan for the game became clear right at the start as the home side looked to dominate possession while the away side were focused to play on the counter.

Right from the start, Jamshedpur FC enjoyed an early spell of possession where they looked to cut through the Stallions defence with their precise passing. For the first twenty minutes, there was only one team creating chances consistently but sadly the home side couldn’t register a goal to reflect their dominance.

Carlos Calvo who had returned from his suspension looked the most likely to provide the assist for the goal as he floated a ball in for Farukh to score in the third minute, but unfortunately, the youngster failed to hit the target and trouble the keeper.

Jamshedpur FC looked menacing on corners for Pune City FC and rightly so as the home side had scored the most number of goals from set-pieces(12) while the visitors had conceded the most in the league. However, it was with Mario Arques that the home side came closest to scoring as his left foot strike grazed the crossbar and went over in the 13th minute.

It was Pune who opened the scoring against the run of play, as a stray pass from Jamshedpur FC's new signing Augustin Fernandes was intercepted and converted into a swift counter-attacking move by the visitors. It was Robin Singh who scored the much-needed goal for the away side.

With a goal down, the home side compounded the pressure on the visitors creating chance after chance however, none of them ended up in the back of the net. Most of the game was played in Pune City FC’s half but there was no space left behind for the home side to exploit.

Right in the dying embers of the first half, the home side were dealt another sucker-punch as the visitor’s doubled their lead through a calm-headed strike from Marcelinho. The goal originated from a Jamshedpur FC corner, where the home side commited too many men forward in search of the equalizer but it was defended resolutely by the visitors who were quick to exploit the space that was vacated.

Jamshedpur FC had a mountain to climb if they were to reduce their deficit in the second half. It was a night where everything went according to plan for newly appointed head coach Phil Brown who had stated prior to the game that Jamshedpur FC would be his toughest test yet in the league.

Unfortunately for the Men of Steel, the away side started the second half right where they ended their first, by extending the advantage that they already had. Robin Singh got on the scoresheet again with a powerful left footed strike which was too much for veteran goalkeeper Subrata Paul to handle. The fourth goal which killed any chance of a comeback by the home side was scored by Ashique. Despite being 4-0 down, the home side fought valiantly and managed to grab a consolation when Calvo converted from the spot.

There was space in behind the opposition wingbacks but it wasn’t exploited enough by the home side. The majority of the play was in front of the opposition which was too easy to defend for the visitors.    

This loss capped off a bad day at the office for Jamshedpur FC who are still in the fight for the play-offs spot. Jamshedpur FC will travel to Chennai to face the defending champions where nothing but a win will do for Cesar Ferrando's men.