ISL 2017-18: Tiri's goal was vital says Jamshedpur coach Coppell; defence is a problem admits Dynamos coach

JAMSHEDPUR FC got their second consecutive win at home when they defeated Delhi Dynamos 3-2 on Sunday. They were two goals down and fought hard to win the match. Coach Steve Coppell at the post match press conference began by addressing why the team conceded two early goals.

"The reason behind the two goals conceded was that we were playing against a very dangerous team with real pace in wide areas. The two goals were very similar; crosses coming in from the left side. If anything, we were defending a little bit narrow when we should have been defending wider. We gave them encouragement to play down the wide areas. Once we readjusted, then we coped a little bit better."

"But they are a really dangerous side. Before the game, I was very much aware that they are a team who like to go forward. The full-backs push on so much, it’s hard to deal with. We were 2 – 0 down and they bashed us up. They were better than us. It had nothing to do with our rhythm. They started very quick and hurt us. We were on the ropes for 15-20 minutes."

Talking about their comeback performance, he said,

"Once we went 2 – 0 down, almost immediately, we had a real drive to try and go forward even though we weren’t playing well. There was a mentality to go forward and I think that gave us a chance. Tiri’s goal from a corner was vital. That really gave us encouragement. We knew that Delhi could be fragile defensively. We had to find a way to put them under pressure. Eventually, we did, but they were still dangerous on the break. They were giving us problems on the break all the time. They have got pace and that is one thing very difficult to deal with in football. Just raw pace. And even when we got back in the game, it could have gone either way, even at the end."

Talking about their fixtures ahead, he said,

"Certainly, the next game is difficult for us. We will be travelling probably 12 hours tomorrow and then we got to play two days later. So, that is difficult. And for some reason, we are going from Pune to Kolkata to Mumbai. Not logical. But right from when the fixtures came out, I said the end of January would be the deciding point for us. It’s very demanding but we are up for the challenge. If we would have lost these two games, we would have been dreading. But now, we are thinking let’s see where we end up. We’ll have a go. That’s all we can do. Do our best and have a go."

Meanwhile, Delhi's coach Miguel Portugal said,

"In football, there are different ways to win. Our team had possession, we played fast and played well with the ball. The other team played a different kind of football game. They played with long balls and corners. They played this kind of football because their coach knows how much of a problem it is for us."

Despite the loss, he was happy with his team's performance.

“Jamshedpur has the best in defence, I know. But we scored two goals in 20 minutes and had opportunities to score more goals through Chhangte and Nandhakumar. For that I am happy. I am disappointed that we conceded three goals, but I always tell my team that I need three or four goals to win because our defence is the problem."

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