We should have come away with a point, rues NEUFC assistant coach Paul Groves

Published at :October 31, 2022 at 5:31 PM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : ISL Media)

The Highlanders suffered their fourth consecutive defeat of the season.

NorthEast United’s poor start to the 2022-23 Indian Super League got worse after a 1-0 defeat against Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur on Sunday. They are now the only team in the division without a single win or a point. There was further misery for NEUFC head coach Marco Balbul, who received a red card, the second in four games during the defeat. Suffering a fourth defeat in a row will be demoralising for the Highlanders and seeing their boss receive a red card will not benefit the situation moving forward. Paul Groves, the assistant coach at NEUFC took part in the post-match media interaction and responded to the questions from the journalists.

Here's what he had to say.

Need to capitalise on chances

The difference between the two sides was that one of the two was able to convert their chances. Paul Groves shared this sentiment while talking about the game when he said, “When you look at the performance, you see that the game was of two halves really. They were certainly the best in the first half and more dominant. In the second half, we were the better team. We carried more threats, were more dominant and created more opportunities to score goals. That is the difference, you have to be able to take them.”

“Unfortunately, we were unable to take them tonight and that is why we ended up on the wrong side of the result. We felt at least we should have come away with a point,” he further opined.

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Let down by finishing

Losing four games in a row is a major blow to the club's ambitions this year. In regards to where it is going wrong, the assistant coach said, “When you have the amount of possession that we did today, you must finish off your opportunities. That is where at the moment, we are falling down. We cannot fault the efforts, the work rate and the commitment.”

Head coach's unavailability in the next game

Marco Balbul will be unavailable in the dugout for the next game due to the suspension after receiving a red card. Talking about how difficult this situation becomes for the club ahead of the upcoming match, Groves said, “Your work is done through the week. With regards to the matchday, we will have gone through scenarios in regard to what may happen, and what may not happen and make sure we are as prepared as we possibly can. Obviously, there are situations that arise in a game that we will have to react to and deal with. That is something that we have got enough experience in the bench to be able to cope with.”