Scott Cooper: We didn't deserve to lose against Kerala Blasters

Scott Cooper believes that Jamshedpur FC were the better team in the encounter.

In a closely contested match away at Kochi, Jamshedpur FC faced a disappointing setback as they narrowly missed out on a victory against Kerala Blasters FC. The game was decided by Adrian Luna's precise strike in the 74th minute, which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides. The match showcased a remarkable display of high-quality football, with both teams demonstrating their technical and tactical prowess on the field.

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Despite their commendable efforts, the 'Men of Steel' found themselves on the losing side when the final whistle blew. After the game, Jamshedpur FC's head coach, Scott Cooper, addressed the media and shared his thoughts on the match. Full excerpts of the conversation are as below.

Positives from the game

Despite losing the game, the Englishman highlighted the positives from the encounter and quoted, “We were clearly the better team. There's no doubt about that. They had a good 15-minute spell in the second half. But in the first half, they could do absolutely nothing. They couldn't play out of the press. They couldn't make three passes in the first half to break out of the press that too at their home stadium and in front of their own fans. So, I have to be really pleased with my team's performance. I'm proud of the press and our possession. I think we should have got more from the game, maybe even have run away with three points. But that's what happens when you don't use the possession or the pressing to your own advantage. “

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Furthermore, he went ahead and added, “We've got to finish when we get the opportunities. We knew that Kerala was going to come strong with the fans. We took their fans and their team out of the game for the first 20 minutes. That was always the plan, and it worked. But you've got to get something for that. It's not good just doing that. You've got to get something for it and we didn't and fair play. It was a good finish (by Luna). (But) I don't think we deserve to lose this game at all.”

Views on areas of improvement

Scott Cooper was asked to comment on the areas where his side needed improvements and he replied by saying, “We have got to score goals. We have to finish the chances we get. It's two games now and no goal. We forced their goalkeeper to make a brilliant save and in set-piece situations we were a bit unlucky despite doing things correctly. But there are moments in our striking department that we can do better. “

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In addition to the above, he mentioned, “The possession and pressing was good. It's just that last third of shooting and finishing. It's got to click and so this is an area to look at. But if you look at the first game and compare it to this one, there's a massive development in the team in terms of how we press the ball, how we possess the ball and I think we're just desperately unlucky in this game.”

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