Want to see if that was penalty towards the end: Scott Cooper

Scott Cooper mentioned that his team had to be happy with a point but not satisfied.

Jamshedpur FC played out a goalless draw in their first game against East Bengal FC in the ongoing edition of the Indian Super League. Scott Cooper and his men were ready to face the inform Red & Gold Brigade. Both teams approached the game with a 'safety first' approach but there were good attacking displays from either side during the course of the game. However, none of them could put the ball in the net.

Jamshedpur FC coach Scott Cooper shared his views on the game in the post-match press conference and here is what he said.

Thoughts on getting one point

Jamshedpur FC got an important point away from home in the first game of the campaign. When questioned if he was contained with his side’s performance, the mentor stated, “That's a good question right now. I'm not sure. When you play away from home, first game of the season, you keep a clean sheet, you get a point. I don't think you can grumble. That said, I think we had some big moments - some really good shooting moments in the first half that we didn't shoot.

"We just went for an extra pass or an extra twist or a turn. So we passed those opportunities. I want to see if that was a penalty or not towards the end. I want to take a look at that. This is my point about VAR. There's VARs here, we know for sure. And we can make the right decision and possibly get the right result. I think possession wise it's 50-50, 10 shots each, both teams. I think our goalkeeper only had two shots to save, really,” he added.

He further stated, “I'm a greedy coach, so I'd say I'm a little disappointed not to take the three points because I think we have some big moments towards the end and the counter-attack that we just look like a team that just needs a little bit more time, a little bit more development and it's a team that surely will improve as we get going. There are some younger players there, some new foreign players to the league but generally I think we have to be satisfied but not happy.”

Thoughts on chances missed

The Jamshedpur FC side got quite a few chances in the game. However, poor decision-making and poor luck meant the team could not get a goal. Speaking on the rued chances, Scott Cooper mentioned, “It's quite an easy instruction, isn't it? Shoot, and I can think of a word that goes before shoot to make sure they understand. You know Nongdomba put himself into very good situations, you know, really good situations to pull the trigger and sometimes players, they look for the perfect opening to shoot. Sometimes a shot between players or through legs will find its way into a goal and he has to understand that."

He added, "Sometimes if you have a chance to pull the trigger, pull the trigger. It's never going to be a perfect wide open path to goal, but as long as you can see a part of it, you should. We don't know what will happen from that. We spoke to him afterwards a little bit.”

“There's other moments from set-piece, I thought we looked dangerous from set-pieces. I think in the set-piece area, because many problems on a given night, it just didn't land right for us. As a coach you have to be happy with the defensive display but then think, as we get to know each other more, because our players don't really know each other that well, but if we get to know each other more, they'll understand the runs, the movements, and that becomes a little bit more fluid,” he concluded.