Indian football giant, SC East Bengal finally ended its winless run, as it trumped Odisha FC in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL), at the Tilak Maidan in Goa, on Sunday. The win allowed East Bengal to stay at 10th, while Odisha hit rock bottom.
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It all began with Anthony Pilkington's 12th-minute header, followed by further twin strikes, from Jacques Maghoma in the 39th and Bright Enobakhare in the 88th. Daniel Fox scored an own goal to hand Odisha a consolation, while East Bengal's Debjit Majumder came up with five saves to deny Odisha a comeback.
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Following the game, East Bengal head coach, Robbie Fowler was delighted with his side starting the new year on a high. "It's always nice to get a win also our first win. That's one game in five we have lost now. It was a good, professional performance. This club is all about progression and we will try and get for the future. We are building, there is a lot of work to be done and we will continue to do that. It is a great win and a great start to the new year and hopefully, it will continue," he said.
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"We didn't change our system. We have our style of play and we want to try and keep it simple. When you do that it becomes a bit easy for everyone. It is not about formations or certain players. Players have a role. With the quality we have, even today if we see, Pilkington's goal, Jacques' goal. Not to mention Bright (Enobakhare). Bright was fantastic. He made the game so simple. He looks like an unbelievable player," Fowler continued.
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"Ideally, all of us want to keep a clean sheet, but the most important part of the game is the result. Maybe, a little bit disappointed for not keeping a clean sheet, but again, our lads were brilliant and scored three goals. We deserved to win. Clean sheets are great, but three points are more important," added Fowler.
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Meanwhile, Odisha manager, Stuart Baxter rued the poor goals conceded by his side, thus expressing his disappointment. "We didn't underestimate East Bengal at all. If you look at performances of both teams, the only difference is we let in two very poor goals which got them in front and then we had to chase the game. We allowed the ball to bounce in our penalty area, that's just poor play. The players felt that it was an important game and were far too tight at the beginning of the game," he said.
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"Unfortunately, in this game, there is no secret liquid which you drink and become a different team. You have got to make sure the players are doing the things that will help us to win football games. Set plays are very important. That long throw-in was a set-play. We had many set-plays, but couldn't put it over the line. They utilised their set-plays better than us," continued Baxter.
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"The transfer market means budget, players' availability and in this bubble with the quarantine, it is difficult. If we had to do that, we should have done it before (the season kicked off). I would prefer the club to know the situation we have to do the best we can from this situation," Baxter concluded.
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