Jonathas and Javi Hernandez netted for Odisha FC as Garcia's side took all three points and climbed to the sixth spot in the ISL table.
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Odisha FC interim head coach Kino Garcia was happy with his side’s performance in the 2-1 win over SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL) fixture at Tilak Maidan on Tuesday. Garcia felt that this “win was really important” for them as it puts them “in contention for semi-finals”. OFC broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute through Jonathas before Antonio Perosevic equalized for SCEB. And then, in the 75th minute, Javi Hernandez netted the winner for OFC.
FULL-TIME | #SCEBOFC@javih89‘s winning goal gifts @OdishaFC a hard-fought victory over @sc_eastbengal at the Tilak Maidan Stadium! ?#HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/mcQdS1kvA5
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) February 7, 2022
Garcia was speaking to the media after the match and when asked about this thoughts on the victory, the head coach said: “My thoughts, I’m really happy today because after playing a draw against Goa. That draw felt like a loss because we were winning until they scored a goal in the 95th minute. So, winning today was important for us, that puts us in contention for the semi-finals. Really happy about the result, we have to improve some aspects but happy about the victory. “
The win helped OFC to sixth place in the league standings with 21 points from 15 games. One point adrift fourth-placed Jamshedpur FC, who have two games in hand. Meanwhile fifth placed Mumbai City FC also have 22 points and have played only 14 games. When asked about the importance of the win, Garcia said: “For us, it’s really important because a win today as it gives us a chances of being in the semi-final. This win was really tough. There are a lot of good teams involved in this process.
“But we knew SC East Bengal have improved a lot under Mario Rivera. So, we knew this match gonna be really tough. We were really aware of the situation and we knew that a victory today for us was really important.”
After making a slow start OFC were winless in the previous three games. On Monday, mid-way through the first half, Javi made a darting run down the right flank and delivered a perfect low cut back for Jonathas to tap in from close range.
However, East Bengal leveled the score in the 64th minute from a counter attack. Franjo Prce played a brilliant overhead defense splitting pass to release Perosevic on goal. The Croatian striker broke free of his marker and finished it off with a nicely timed left-footer.
Odisha stepped up its game and found the winner through Javi. This time it was Jonathas who provided the assist for Javi to score from the edge of the box. .
