Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC played out an intriguing 0-0 draw in the ISL fixture at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Monday.
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Jamshedpur FC boss Owen Coyle was delighted with his sides collective defending but wants more goals after the intriguing goalless draw against Bengaluru FC on Monday. The Indian Super League (ISL) fixture at the Athletic stadium in Bambolim had everything except a goal. Both sides played their hearts out but couldn’t find the back of the net. In the end, it was a fair result. The draw helped Jamshedpur to second in the points table with 12 points while Bengaluru now have drawn two in a row but registered their first clean sheet of the campaign.
An entertaining game ends all square between @JamshedpurFC and @bengalurufc as goalkeepers earn their bread.https://t.co/GvO2dWpkdE #JFCBFC #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/04vTBLV2Pv
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 20, 2021
Coyle said after the match “I thought it was two very tough teams, a very competitive game. I wouldn’t say scrappy, both teams were tested for the three points, and both teams created some wonderful chances to win the game.”
Both the goalkeeper’s had a busy night especially BFC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was one of the top performers on Monday as he made some crucial saves to deny the JFC attackers.
JFC playmaker Greg Stewart tried to find Jordan Murray with a cross but Gurpreet made a crucial clearance. At the other end, TP Rehenseh made an even better save. Left-back Ashique Kuruniyan’s cross found Celiton Silva inside the box, but the Brazilian’s header was brilliantly parried off by the Kerala-born custodian.
Coyle added “Gurpreet showed why he’s a top goalkeeper with some wonderful saves. We could have been more clinical with the possession. But the effort and the energy we showed in the latter half is commendable. Bengaluru is a far better side than what possession suggests. So obviously, it was really tough and competitive game.”
JFC were handed a blow before the start of the game as their top striker Nerijus Valskis pulled up with an injury during the warm up and Murray replaced him in the starting XI. The Lithuanian striker who was the joint top scorer in the league in the 2019-20 season hasn’t been firing in all cylinders this time around. He has managed to hit the target only two times from 6 appearances.
The English tactician was satisfied with the spirit and desire shown by his players despite a number of injury problems, he said “Nerijus Valkis is a wonderful player so is Jordan Murray who came out injured from this match. You know, he got to start tonight and looked really lively. He’ll be better for that. So of course, it’s a blow always to lose any of your players. Valkis obviously pulled up in the warm-up. And we don’t want to aggravate the injury,”
“And we also had Narender on the injury list. We were decimated by injury. But the boys showed great spirit, great desire. And we were the team that pushing on to try and win the game early on.”
“But we stood up to everything we were asked, and again, it’ll be an important point that moves the company to second spot for the moment. And we just have to keep moving forward with another clean sheet. But I think there’s a lot of positives tonight.”
JFC’s defense has been pretty solid this season and it was their second consecutive clean sheet. Central defender Peter Hartley along with Narender Gahlot did a very good job to keep the likes of Silva and Prince Ibara quiet.
Coyle continued “I think I was delighted with the defending first and foremost an answer to your question. But the defending is not just about a goalkeeper and back four, the defending comes from the front. Greg Stewart and Jordan Murray, you know, top few outstanding attempts to set up how many times we robbed them in the second half and probably couldn’t have gone through.”
“So collectively, the defending was fantastic. In terms of the goals, yes, of course, you want to score goals. And I think I won’t say I’m unhappy. I would just say, we just need to move more clinically.”
