Josep Gombau: We did not do well with the extra pressure of getting a win or a draw

The tactician was clearly disappointed after the result.

Odisha FC landed themselves in a lot of trouble after losing its final league game of the Indian Super League 2022-23 season. Playing at home, Josep Gombau’s men lost by a 0-2 scoreline against Jamshedpur FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Wednesday. 

The side needed only a point to secure the last available playoff spot, however, the defeat means it must hope for a favourable result from the hosts during FC Goa’s visit to Bengaluru. 

Odisha FC’s head coach spoke to the media after the game during the post-match press conference. He was visibly disappointed with the result. Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

A fair result

The head coach accepts that his team was the second-best against the opponents who were hungrier for the win. Josep Gombau said, “It was a difficult game for us. A fair result, I think Jamshedpur FC was a better side than us. We did not do well with the extra pressure of getting the win or draw result. They played the game well and beat us. We took many wrong decisions with the ball but it is what it is. Now, we need to wait till tomorrow to know if we are in or out.”

The pep talk after the game

Josep Gombau was seen delivering a team talk at the end of the game.“I told the players that all of us tried hard. We worked a lot, the coaching staff preparing the game and they training and playing but today we did not get the result. We need to show good sportsmanship, when you win you are happy and when you lose, you need to accept and learn from your mistakes and congratulate the other team as they played well,” he said.

Grateful to the fans

The result was disappointing for the fans who were hoping to finally see their team enter the ISL playoffs for the first time ever. Josep Gombau spoke about failing to deliver the result for the fans and expressed gratitude for their support. He concluded by saying, “To the fans, I would say that we are very sad. We tried hard for them. We are grateful for all of the support they gave us throughout the season. I do not want to say that this is finished. We will see what happens. In the end, we have 30 points, it is not a bad year.”