Goa: Fresh from a win in their last match, Jamshedpur FC will take on Kerala Blasters at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Sunday with an aim to finish in the top three after the first leg.
The match would be important for both the side to perform and give their best. Certainly Kerala has been a struggling under the leadership of Kibu Vicuna, and need to grab their socks up after their loss against Odisha FC in their last match.
Players looked out of shape and were finding it difficult to cope up with the pace against any of their opponents. “It was a difficult night (against Odisha FC). Since that match, we have been preparing well. We trained yesterday, and we’re going to train today. In football, you have to bounce back, show personality that you’re a good team,” Vicuna said in the pre-match press conference.
“It’s not a question of style. The teams are different, and the players are different. We’re making changes, and not playing the same style from the start. We’re trying to improve and correct (the mistakes) with the team we have. I’m sure that this team can get good results. It’s not a question of being stubborn with a style.”
Whereas on the other hand Jamshedpur under Owen Coyle has been in the fifth position with 13 points and certainly has been a good side to watch out for the ISL. Certain Nerijus Valskis and Stephen Eze would be their go-to man against Blasters and it is a golden opportunity for them to move into the top four after 10 matches.
“If you look at Kerala’s games, they have been very unlucky. In their last game, they lost 4-2 but they could have scored five or six goals. Against Mumbai City FC, they put themselves two-nothing down because of individual errors but they could have again scored two or three. When teams have disappointing results, they can be dangerous. They have some wonderful players. I think it will be a difficult game and we have to make sure that we bring the same work ethic that we brought in the first nine games,” Coyle said.
He concluded, “When you look to get new players, I always suggest that you get those better than you already have. It has to be domestic players because we have a full quota of foreigners. If there’s a young player who can enhance what we’re doing at Jamshedpur now, I think we would be interested.”
