After a spree of a six-game unbeaten run, NorthEast United were finally handed their opening defeat of the season, by Jamshedpur FC, in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL), on Friday. The win took Jamshedpur up to the fifth spot, while NEU stayed on fourth.
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As for the match, it was the sole strike from Aniket Jadhav that helped Jamshedpur earn the win. During the course, they also survived a penalty scare, only to be saved by Jamshedpur goalkeeper, Rehenesh TP.
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Meanwhile, following the game, Jamshedpur head coach, Owen Coyle, was all praise for the side's hard work, as he said, "Hard to work hard for clean sheet. We conceded some sloppy goals this season, but boys are working hard. 7 players missing tonight, 7th game in 23 days. Credit to the boys. Still a lot of improvement needed. It's about rest and recovery. I thought we deserved the 3 points, but it was coming."
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"I think coming in to Chennaiyin, I couldn't sign any players and coming in to Jamshedpur too there were a number of players already signed here. I signed Rehenesh, the Spanish lads, William. But, most of the squad was already there. Technically players can be better. Understanding and game management needed to be worked on. We kow the threat of Nerka, but we need other players to chip in," added Coyle.
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"Nerka was outstanding. He contributes a lot in other areas of the pitch. He had to play every minute. Grande is out. He is a credit to himself Strikers will have that, but they NEUFC is a tough game causing problems the way they play. [Lima] He has been injured since start of the season, but he has a big heart. He was still 80 per cent. He has a bit of everything about him," Coyle concluded.
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As for NEU head coach, Gerard Nus praised the fighting spirit but rued the missed penalty chance as a medium of a comeback. "We had fighting spirit and worked hard. We missed a chance with penalty and other chances. They have great players Valskis and the centre-backs. A great coach. It was an intense game. Now, we need to show true character of the team. [Combination of Sylla-Appiah] Our plan was to try work the centre-backs. We waned them to be aware of wide areas which we didn't exploit that. Other areas needed to be improved too," he said.
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"We have different ways to create chances. In the long term, team is more hard to defend against us. We need to go in the direction. We need to learn from this loss. We did some good things and we need to know what we can work on," added Nus.
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On Gellego's fitness, Nus said, "We need to see every day. He trained two days with the team. Other players have better rhythm. Its a test for us to how we react on whether we are truly a family and if we can stick together. Sylla said sorry for the penalty and what matters is what we learn from it."
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