ISL 2020-21: Stuart Baxter vents frustration as Odisha FC continue winless run

By Team Newsable | First Published Dec 23, 2020, 1:11 PM IST

Odisha FC is currently paced 10th in the table and is on a winless run in seven matches, drawing five and a couple of losses. It is coming off a recent draw against NorthEast United FC, as the latter is placed in the fourth spot. Both teams are yet to win the title.

Frustrations continued for Odisha FC, as its bid to earn its maiden win of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 season was put on hold by NorthEast United FC on Tuesday. Both the teams settled for a competitive, but frustrating draw, as Odisha stays in 10th, while NEU stays on fourth.

It all began with Diego Mauricio's header in the 22nd minute, followed by Benjamin Lambot equaliser at the stroke of half-time. Meanwhile, Kwesi Appiah's penalty in the 65th minute handed NEU the lead, only to be levelled again by Cole Alexander, two minutes later.

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Meanwhile, following the draw, Odisha head coach Stuart Baxter expressed his frustrations, as he said, "I don't really accept the congratulations on the draw. I think we have this habit, a bad one, that turns happy endings into sob stories. We had periods where we stopped playing in our shape and did not have the right intentions on the ball and we started taking too many touches. We sometimes get panicky. We are doing more and more of the good things and less bad stuff, but the latter is still costing us dearly. We are improving, I think, but it's slow."

"How we trained was to get Vineet (Rai) and (Gaurav) Bora early in build-up play and break the first press. When we did that, we were very dangerous. You look at the press in some of the lads today... we went toe to toe with them. We wanted the three points. It will be easy for this young squad to fall into pieces, but they aren't and this gutsy performance showed that," he added.

ALSO READ: NorthEast United FC settle for a frustrating draw against Odisha FC

In the meantime, NEU head coach Gerard Nus believed that his side deserved to win, as he said, "I believe we deserved three points for the amount of chances we created. We controlled the game and the ball - something that we did not do before. It's not a priority, but we prefer to control the game. Today, we came with a very offensive team, but the little details costs us two points. I am proud of the effort, this team is always working and never switches off. This team wants more. They are not here for holidays, they are here for something serious. I am disappointed with not getting the three points. Defensive attention... sometimes we relaxed and were punished and that shows how competitive this league is. We need to learn from this and keep going"

"We know he has been injured for a while. His performance was amazing and what he brings is something top class. At the same time, you want him to be ready for next games. I believe in all the players we have. We know the guy who will come in to replace him will also do well," he said on replacing Gallego 10 minutes into the second half.

"We put everything into consideration. When you have the five foreigners rule, you consider all the things someone can bring and their replacements. Camara is one of the most outstanding players in the league and he's a player that has my full trust like everyone else," he concluded.

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