After a disheartening loss against the Kerala Blasters FC in their first match of 2021, Head Coach Owen Coyle talks about what went wrong for the team and what are the plans moving forward in the season.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
On losing to 10 men Kerala Blasters FC
I think even in 11 vs 11, we were the better side and then after having an extra man advantage, we lost our focus and found ourselves 3-1 down in the game. But, we came back with another goal and multiple other chances. It was overall a balanced play whether it was 11 men or 10 men on the field. Ultimately, if you give away opportunities to score goals, then obviously you will be punished, and that is what happened tonight.
On the team being too dependent on Valskis to score goals
Well, players other than Valskis have also stepped up to score goals. Valskis has scored 8 goals, Eze has scored 3 goals even Aniket has scored and in many instances the players have taken a shot at goal but the goal got deflected off the crossbar or the post. Valskis is no doubt an outstanding striker and Igor Angulo is also a very good striker but even other players can step up to score goals for their teams and they have shown that on multiple occasions.
On Rehenesh’s errors costing the game
Rehenesh has been in amazing form in the season so far but when a goalkeeper makes an error or a mistake at goal, it will obviously get converted into a goal. Unfortunately, tonight a few errors cost us the match, but we will analyze our mistakes, pick ourselves up from the loss and get to work again. Yes, we did have a bad game tonight but being a striker myself, I know there are tons of chances at goal and when you score one, you become the hero of the game but sadly, it is a nightmare for the keeper when they concede a goal, and that is why one needs to be mentally strong and should learn to pick themselves up to get ready for the next match.
On the gaps in the defence during the match
We started the game pretty well, but there were a few chances for Kerala Blasters to score early in the game and they did take the lead in the first half. They scored goals which could have been avoided but we stood back up and scored 2 perfect goals. We hit the post 3 times tonight and Albino Gomes, the keeper for Kerala Blasters made some very good saves throughout the game. So, all those chances could have been defended. In terms of analyzing the game, it was a match we never should have lost, but we sadly did. So, we need to leave this game in the past and go back to work again for our next game.
On the team not being aggressive and alert enough in the second half
I don’t think that was the case. We did lose focus and concentration during the game and some individual errors took place. But, as a team it is a collective effort to work together and win. Sadly, a few players were not at their best and that cost us the game tonight. People tend to over analyze situations, but we did well tonight. Unfortunately, some mistakes were committed and we paid the price for them.
On David Grande and Nick Fitzgerald being fit and back in the squad
It’s a good thing because they were not quite ready to get back on the field tonight. However, I wanted them to train with the team so that we can bring them back into the game soon. Day-by-day they are getting fitter and training more than they were able to before. Hopefully, they will be available to play in the upcoming games, but it was important for them to be a part of the squad tonight. William and Narender are also healthy and were able to play tonight, so it is good to have them back. However, we cannot concede goals like we did tonight. We need to look solid defensively and we have to maintain that same intensity in the defence to keep the opposition at bay. When we do that successfully, we will be an even bigger threat as we will be able to score goals and convert set pieces into goals as we have shown before. Having said that, it should have been a victory for Jamshedpur and that is what is frustrating about the loss tonight.
On moving forward in the season post #JFCKBFC
We will leave this loss in the past and look forward to winning our next game now. We did have an opportunity to get back into the top 4 position like we were when we won the game against Bengaluru FC. But, even if you look back into the previous games, there were a couple of matches where we were not given the points that we deserved and with games like tonight is the reason why we are not in the top 4 teams. We know we were robbed off a few points from the previous matches but what’s done is done. We still have a bunch of games to play and more points to collect from them, so we will pick ourselves up after tonight’s match and work even harder to get to the top 4 position.
