ISL 2022-23: Odisha FC aims to make club history as it aims for a point against Jamshedpur FC
ISL 2022-23: Matchday 22 gets underway from Wednesday. The opening game of the same happens between Odisha FC and Jamshedpur FC in Bhubaneshwar, as the former is looking for a point to make club history.
FollowOdisha FC (OFC) needs a point in its final league stage meeting versus Jamshedpur FC (JFC) in the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Wednesday to make it to the playoffs for the first time in its history. The Juggernauts are placed sixth, three points adrift of FC Goa (FCG), and with a point, OFC will qualify for the ISL playoffs and breathe easy before Goa takes the field on Thursday.
OFC was off to a flyer in the initial half of the season but fronted periodic hiccups in the latter stage. In the opening ten matches of this campaign, the Juggernauts bested six and yielded three. Out of nine contests in the season’s second half, it succeeded in three, failed in four, and drew a couple. Two of those three triumphs have come over the last few weeks.
After clinching a 3-1 conquest over NorthEast United (NEUFC) last Friday, OFC enlisted straight victories in the ISL for the first time since the opening three match weeks. Nandhakumar Sekar ended his five-game unfertile spell with his season’s sixth goal, and Diego Mauricio became the league’s joint-top scorer this season with Cleiton Silva after hammering his campaign’s 12th.
“If we get a good result, we will take the final playoff spot. Our aim in the last league-phase home game of the season is to try and win the game, and after that, we will keep an eye on the other results to see where we end up on the table. Jamshedpur FC is an outstanding team that won the league last season, and they are getting good results in the last few games. But, we are hungry and want to qualify for the playoffs for the first time,” said Gombau.
ALSO READ: ISL 2022-23 FINAL IN GOA - DATE, TIME, VENUE, TICKETS, WHERE TO WATCH AND MORE DETAILS HERE
JFC is unbeaten in its last three ISL contests after prevailing in a couple and drawing one. JFC has kept a couple of clean sheets in these three fixtures and pummelled five goals, conceding just a couple in the process. Last Saturday, against a second-string defending champion Hyderabad FC (HFC) side, JFC claimed a remarkable 3-2 success. Daniel Chuku and Ritwik Das were on the scoresheet again, each scoring their season’s fifth goal. The Red Miners will be without Eli Sabia, as the defender saw a straight red versus HFC.
“It has been long since we last played each other on that monsoon evening in October. A last-minute goal beat us, and that hurt. Odisha is an outstanding team and is playing well. We want to see if we can finish strong as well. Our form has been a considerable upturn over the last ten games. We are happy with that but disappointed that we aren’t going to the playoffs,” said Boothroyd.
In the seven ISL brushes between the two, JFC has appeared victorious four times, while OFC has triumphed a couple. One of those two wins came in the reverse fixture when the Juggernauts beat the Red Miners 3-2.
