ISL 2023-24: Owen Coyle disappointed after Chennaiyin FC's defeat to East Bengal FC; WATCH

Chennaiyin FC's head coach, Owen Coyle, voices frustration after his team's narrow 1-0 defeat to East Bengal FC in a heated encounter during ISL Matchweek 17.

Chennaiyin FC's head coach, Owen Coyle, voiced his disappointment after his team narrowly lost 1-0 to East Bengal FC in Matchweek 17 of the Indian Super League (ISL). Despite a hard-fought battle and dominating performance, the Marina Machans couldn't find the back of the net. The turning point came in the 65th minute when Nandhakumar Sekar's angled shot deflected off Bikash Yumnam, leading to East Bengal FC's victory.

Coyle expressed frustration at the missed opportunities and emphasized that his team should not have left with a loss, considering their excellent performance. Despite the setback, he remains confident in the young talents, particularly forward Rahim Ali, aiming to build them up for the future of Indian football. Looking forward, Coyle is determined to bounce back and believes Chennaiyin FC will be a strong team in the upcoming seasons.

“Obviously, I think what you've got to do is analyse the whole game, and there's no doubt that we should not be leaving here having lost the game. We were excellent tonight,” stated Coyle at the post-match press conference.
Lamenting the missed opportunities, he added,

“We came to a magnificent stadium and a real footballing city, against a very prestigious and big club, and we totally dominated the game. We were outstanding, given even the injuries we had. But what you've got to do when you're in top-end games, you have to take your chances, you have to get in front. And, we didn't do that with some wonderful opportunities.”

Justifying his decision to continue with Ali, Coyle explained, “With these young kids, we don't want to be critical of them. We want to build them up and give them a chance because that will be the future of Indian football moving forward.”

Elucidating his confidence in the young talents, the 57-year-old shared, “Certainly moving into even for next season, I have a number of talented young players lined up. So, we still have an opportunity even this season, still to make the top six. But I can assure you, next season Chennaiyin FC is going to be a very, very good team.”