Jitendra was absolutely fantastic today, says Jamshedpur FC's Peter Hartley after the win over ATK Mohun Bagan

Jamshedpur FC defeated ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the Indian Super League (ISL) fixture in Bambolim on Monday to move to the second spot in the table. Jamshedpur FC’s central defender’s Peter Hartley and Eli Sabai along with the young Jitendra singh who played as a defensive midfielder in front of them were superb on the night. Jamshedpur took the lead in the first half through Seiminlen Doungel before Alex Lima doubled it late in the match. Although the Mariners pulled one back through Pritam Kotal, Jamshedpur held on to the victory.

It was ATK Mohun Bagan’s second consecutive defeat after being thrashed 5-1 by Mumbai City FC in the previous match. Opposition teams seem to have found the formula to break down Antonio Habas’ side. In the last match, Mumbai City used their pacey wingers to good effect to come out on top.

While yesterday, Jamshedpur boss Owen Coyle solidified his defence and successfully implemented the counter-attacking strategy to win the match. Once again, the wingers made the difference as they were too hot for ATK Mohun Bagan’s defence to handle. The likes of Doungel and Komal Thatal used their pace to goo effect.

Jitendra, who represented India in the U-17 World Cup played alongside Ponay Halder and provided cover for the back line. The 20-year-old worked his socks off to keep the likes of Hugo Boumous and Joni Kauko quiet.

Hartley and Sabia were also impressive and kept ATK Mohun Bagan’s star striker Roy Krishna in check. Goalkeeper TP Rehenesh was up to the task whenever he was called into action.

“I thought Jitendra was absolutely fantastic today. He covered every blade of grass today like you said and he’s a pleasure to play with. From day one of pre-season, he’s come in, and has really rolled his sleeves up. He’s worked his way into the team this season and he is keeping his spot,” said Hartley, after the win over ATK Mohun Bagan.

Jitendra deservingly won the Hero of the Match award

Jitendra deservingly won the Hero of the Match award for his solid performance, and he was pleased with the three points. Jitendra and Pronay’s presence allowed the forward line to express themselves more freely. Meanwhile Last game’s hero Greg Stewart, once again was excellent as a playmaker.

“Even in the last match we tried to take back three points, but that did not happen unfortunately. But, it was important to get three points tonight, against a tough opponent. Now, we are focused on the next match,” stated the Indian defender. 

Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle lauded his wards for the impressive win, but also insisted that they should keep on improving.

“Yeah, I’m delighted, I mean, you know the boys, how we play, we give you everything we’ve got. We worked very hard tonight, but as for the quality, I think we can show more as we move forward. But we certainly showed signs and that’s what we need to do. We need to keep improving,” said Coyle.

Jamshedpur FC will next take on leaders Mumbai City FC on Thursday while ATK Mohun Bagan will have to regroup themselves and face Chennaiyin FC on Saturday.