Jamshedpur, February 7: Football truly returned to the Furnace on Friday night as Jamshedpur FC marked their homecoming with a 1–0 victory over Sporting Club Delhi in a friendly match, played in front of an enthusiastic crowd of around 7,000 fans at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
From the opening whistle, the night carried a sense of occasion, with supporters filling the stands to witness competitive football at the Furnace after a long gap. Jamshedpur FC began on the front foot, creating the first attacking moment of the match when Madih Talal stepped up to take a free-kick early on, only for the Delhi defence to deny him.
Talal remained at the heart of JFC’s attacking play, coming close twice through neat combination moves first meeting Ritwik Das’ cut-back from the left flank with a shot that missed the post by inches, and later trying his luck with a powerful effort from outside the box that again went narrowly wide.
The breakthrough came from the right flank when Messi Bouli found the net, calmly finishing to give Jamshedpur FC the lead and spark celebrations in the stands. JFC continued to press, with Germanpreet Singh also testing his luck with a long-range effort that sailed just inches wide of the goal as the Men of Steel went into the break with a deserved 1–0 advantage.
The second half saw head coach Owen Coyle rotate his squad, giving opportunities to a number of players as part of pre-season assessment. While goals proved elusive after the interval, Jamshedpur FC maintained control and composure, seeing out the game comfortably against a resilient Sporting Club Delhi side.
