After posting a 3-2 win over Northeast United FC last week, Jamshedpur FC will launch their second-half campaign against SC East Bengal in the Hero Indian Super League 2021-22 tie in Goa on Tuesday evening.
The Men of Steel are positioned in the top 4 and a victory against East Bengal would also boost their confidence in the rest of the second round encounters.
Jamshedpur is placed 4th with 16 points (10 matches, 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses) while East Bengal are at the bottom of the table with 6 points (10 matches, 0 win, 6 draws, 4 losses).
Jamshedpur FC finished first half of the tournament on a winning note by not only bagging the crucial three points in their match against NorthEast United FC, but also placing themselves at number 3 in the league table.
Head coach Owen Coyle would like his boys to repeat the performance of the last match against East Bengal who seem to have found their lost touch.
Talking about Jamshedpur FC's performance so far this season, Owen said: I think we did well to a certain extent. I feel we should probably have had even more points, but again we have to be clinical at the right times. I think we’ve had more attempts than any other team in the league through some very good performance. We have to keep the momentum going. We still need to work on some areas but overall, I think, we’ve worked very hard.
What’s important now is that half of the season is over and we can't let that affect us. We have to make sure we accumulate more points than we did in the first half of the season and if we do that, then of course it's not difficult to figure out that we’ll get into the top 4 which is where we want to be, and those playoff spots with a chance to win that coveted play-off shield."
On the decisions given by the officials in the fixtures, Owen said: "There isn’t a lot to be done if the goals are offside. Those are the decisions that should be given by the officials and that's what they’re there for. I am a big advocate of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) and I know it has its own share of problems but ultimately, you’ll get the big decisions right and these goals will change the result of the games. "
As regards Peter Hartley on the verge of completing 450 career games in the next fixture, the Scotland-born Owen said: "I think everyone knows my opinion on Peter Hartley and that is why I brought him to this football club because of what he brings to the table. He has played against me many times and I have seen him as an observer watching the games. I have always been very impressed by his abilities as well as his leadership qualities. He is a proper leader and puts his head on the line. He’s inspiring and he has a desire and fire which I really adore. "
