Jamshedpur FC

After a refreshing Christmas break, Jamshedpur FC were back in action as they faced Bengaluru FC for their 9th fixture of the season. They moved on from the disheartening defeat against FC Goa and shifted their focus towards their next challenge to face the in-form Bengaluru FC. Jamshedpur travelled for another away match to the Fatorda stadium before the New Year’s break.

Bengaluru FC won the toss and kicked off the fixture. Not even a few minutes passed by when Bengaluru got their first chance to score an early goal with a free kick right outside the box. Kristian Opseth took the free kick but Rehenesh got his hands on the ball; he made a quick dive to keep it out of the goal.  Despite the Bengaluru side dominating the match, Jamshedpur came through with a few opportunities at goal out of which one was an open chance for Valskis to score. Sadly, he sent the ball flying way over the post. Then, the hosts almost scored their opening goal; a beautiful through ball from Sunil Chhetri passed through the line of defence which looked like a clear goal for the Blues but Rehenesh stood strong at the post as he put his body on the line and blocked the ball away from Cleiton Silva’s legs. He made another save after the ball went back in Bengaluru’s possession and then Eze managed to clear the ball away from the box thus keeping the score neutral. 

Jamshedpur got another chance at scoring the opening goal as the ball was lobbed by Dinliana at the far post where Jacki was waiting to put the ball in the back of the net. Jacki headed that lobbed ball at the goal but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu got his hands on it at the last moment and the ball got deflected from the target. And that’s how a lively first half came to an end with Bengaluru taking full control of the half with multiple attacks at goal and a strong defensive structure at the back. 

The second half began with Jamshedpur closing in with a barrage of attacks into the Bengaluru FC box. However, they were unable to produce any significant attempts at goal. Then, the Red Miners were presented with yet another chance as a freekick was crossed in by Aitor which landed in Peter Hartley’s possession right into the heart of the box. Peter, who was unmarked, took an attempt with a slight chip to the ball but the ball was saved by the keeper. Eze too took a volley just seconds later but it got blocked by the Bengaluru defence. 

The game grew even more intense as both teams produced counter-attacks towards the opposition box and kept a strong defensive approach as well.  After 80 minutes of the game being goalless, the fans finally saw the first goal of the match. Super Eagle, Stephen Eze, converted another freekick set-piece into a goal with a stunning header. The ball landed with Alex after Aitor took the freekick, which was passed to Aniket in the right flank. Aniket crossed the ball in the box as it met the centre-back’s diving attempt which bounced off the keeper’s torso and crossed the goal line. The Men of Steel took the lead with just 10 minutes to go for full-time, but they had to make sure to park the bus well to secure a victory against the quick-paced attacking line of the Blues. 

As the Blues were trailing by one goal in the closing minutes of the clash, they came in with full energy to score a late equalizer. However, all the efforts of Bengaluru FC were successfully denied by the strong wall of defence of Jamshedpur FC. The fixture concluded with a clear victory for the Red Miners. 

And that’s how Jamshedpur wrapped up year 2020. The team now stands at #3 in the league standings.