Goa: After three consecutive losses, SC East Bengal would be looking to register their maiden win in the Indian Super League (ISL) when they lock horns with Jamshedpur FC on Thursday. Things have been on the tougher side for East Bengal as they are yet to score a goal in the tournament and have already conceded seven goals.
The Robbie Fowler-coached side have lacked out and out scorers upfront while the defence too has faltered. They could have scored in the last match had the referee given them a genuine penalty. With such a huge fan following, Fowler needs to get the best from his players and do something to turn the table.
The likes of Anthony Pilkington and Jason Maghoma have been their key players and need to do more. The playing style has improved from before but they need to buck up to catch other teams in this league race.
“Strategy means nothing at times when you have got a player (like Nerijus Valskis) who is playing well and scoring goals, it’s difficult to stop. We have a plan like we do going into every game. We’ll have an emphasis on obviously stopping them from scoring and us trying to score. Our emphasis will be to get that first goal because I think it’s proven in the previous game that when you go behind, it’s difficult to get back into the game. So hopefully it’ll be a little different. Regardless of them playing as well as they are, if we get the first goal then we might see a different team,” Fowler said during the pre-match press conference.
Jamshedpur is a confident side. They have beaten ATK Mohun Bagan in their last encounter after a brilliant performance by their Lithuanian, talisman Nerijus Valskis. He will be their target man against East Bengal too.
Valskis has a knack for scoring goals against Kolkata clubs and Owen Coyle is aware of this fact. Coyle has been praising the East Bengal as he believes that a team with nothing to lose can be more dangerous. With the likes of Jackichand Singh, Alex De Lima, Aitor Monroy, Coyle is confident to do something positive for his side, ahead of this match.
In the pre-match press conference, Coyle said, “I’ve watched all three of SC East Bengal’s games and they have been very unlucky not to take something from them. They have been giving great performances but have had some bad luck and injuries here and there. They have some very good players and a very good coach in Robbie Fowler, so it’s going to be a very tough game.”
