The Chennaiyin FC boss was delighted with the win but maintained that there is no room for slip-ups….
Chennaiyin FC picked a third straight win in the Indian Super League (ISL), leapfrogging their opponents at the Marina Arena, Jamshedpur FC into the sixth position. The hosts were dominant for most parts of the game and coach Owen Coyle was delighted with the result.
He claimed that the visitors were also potent on the front foot but a strong first half performance from his side was enough to seal the three points. However, he did admit that the Men of Steel were the better side for a period of play in the second half.
“We spoke about this. We knew it would be a tough game. (Sergio) Castel is a fantastic player. They had good player and we were respectful of them and we knew the game would be against us. I was delighted how we went about it in the first half. We could’ve scored more. I thought the game was end to end with Jamshedpurr also making chances. This was the only way we were going to play We are attack-minded but there is a risk,” he said.
“I was not happy with 10 minutes in the second half when Jamshedpur were all over us and Castel scored. But the reaction from my players was sensational. The pass from Thapa was brilliant and Valskis had a wonderful finish. To score four goals and register three wins in a row, that’s brilliant. We need to be on the same vein. We won’t change the way we play. We will go to Kerala and play the same way.”
The Scot also singled out several players while lauding their performance. He also had words of praise for his substitutes and claimed that everyone in the squad has something to provide.
“Lucian (Goian) and Eli (Sabia) were fantastic. There are lots of things to work on but how we went about from start to finish was fantastic. But we have to do that again in the next match because we are playing catch-up. We are setting up for an exciting end to the game and games like these will help us achieve this,” said Coyle.
“(Anirudh) Thapa is such a consistent performer. I believe in Thapa, Edwin (Vanspaul) and Germanpreet (Singh). Thapa’s passing, running with the ball was outstanding. The better he plays, the better we play. I’ve not seen a better Indian midfielder in the league having looked at the league. But you need to keep doing it throughout a season. And he knows that. He can develop into a top player.
“The great thing with what we have is options. We can’t just rely on 11 players. We are here as a group. What I was pleased about today was that all our substitutions put in contributions.
Despite the three wins in a row, Coyle maintains that there is no room to get complacent as the margin for error is very low. He has already set his sights on the away trip to Kerala.
“We’ve been under pressure from the very first game I came in. We’ve been playing catch up after that poor start. Any slip from us and we are out. We picked ourselves up and have now won three back-to-back. Top four teams can afford to have a slip up but we’ve had to keep winning and winning. We know that and we will go to Kerala and try and win the game,” he concluded.
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