De Deus praises Abdul Hakku, Coppell criticizes performance

Both managers had contrasting perspectives on the game.

Jamshedpur FC coach Steve Coppell was disappointed with the way his team performed in their opening Indian Super League match against NorthEast United. “I felt we started really slowly, the pressure of being a new franchise really affected the way we played. We didn’t really play any football, we just defended and when we got the ball we gave it away very very quickly”. He also slammed substitute Andre Bikey, who got sent off, for being too careless. “Well, it came at a critical time for us, when I had brought Andre on to settle things down and I think it was lazy defending.”

“It was a foul, yes, definitely. Was it a red card offence? I really don’t think there was any malicious intent and for a straight red card, I think that was a little bit over the top,” he added.

Overall, the coach was happy to take a point from the game, even after being a man down in the last quarter of the match. "Ofcourse, I have to be happy. After being down to 10 men, we managed to get a point. I'm happy."

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The lads displayed quality; Frustated with the result, but thats football: De Deus

Clearly the better of the two sides, NEUFC boss Joao De Deus was happy with the approach with which his team dominated the game but was disappointed at not being able to kill the match off. “We were much better than the opponent, but we are frustrated with this result. Because the quality the boys put in the field today deserved a completely different result. But this is football.”

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De Deus also heaped praise on Abdul Hakku, the young defender from Kerala, for his brilliant display. “He had a good pre-season, he has lots of potential and quality. We will give him the space to grow. I have no doubts he will be one of the big names in Indian football in 1-2 years.”