Owen Coyle: In the second half, we were far better than Goa

The Chennaiyin FC boss also revealed that he feels the Marina Machans did not deserve to lose the game.

Friday night saw a goal-fest when Chennaiyin FC hosted FC Goa, as the visitors went home with all three points after winning 4-3 and also climbing back to the top of the table. Following the match, Chennaiyin head coach Owen Coyle interacted with the media and was visibly disappointed, yet hopeful with the fight his team showed in the second half.

When asked about his thoughts on the match and exactly what went wrong for them, Owen Coyle had a lot to say. "It was not about balance, as we gifted the first three goals. The mistakes were individual mistakes. FC Goa are a fantastic side, they have some great attacking players," he began.

"We gave them Christmas gifts, first three goals were all gifts. Otherwise, it was a very even game against the best side in the league according to the table. We were denied two clear penalties in the box, the score was once 0-0 and then 0-1, it was a clear trip from behind," the Englishman added.

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"I won't sit here and say we did not make mistakes, yes we did and the defeat was self-inflicted. The league is getting better in every aspect, from foreigners to Indian players, but we must get those big decisions right, it is almost in every game. We have suffered in all three games in my tenure. Some of the stuff was really bizarre," Owen Coyle opined.

The Marina Machans came back into the game in the second half only to lose 3-4, but Coyle mainly highlighted the individual errors which made Chennaiyin concede the first three goals.

Thoughts On Individual Errors

"What we showed in the second half, the football we played against a very good side. Second half, we were far better than Goa, you can't give teams a three-goal lead. We go back at 4-3 and then with 10 men, I would have loved another 10 minutes with 11 men. We need to learn and cut out the individual errors and if we do that we are a hard team to beat. There was a lot to be pleased about in that respect," the tactician added.

On Missing Eli Sabia

Chennaiyin FC missed their defensive mainstay Eli Sabia and when quizzed about his absence, Owen Coyle pointed out the importance of the Brazilian in their backline.

"Eli is a great defender and we missed him. He brings a lot of calmness and leadership at the back. That being said, on balance, I still feel we do not deserve to lose. There were some bizarre decisions from the referee. Their goalkeeper could have got a red. So, there were moments of frustration," the 53-year-old remarked.

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"It leaves a bad taste in our mouth when you put so much into a game and not get anything from it. But, we will pick ourselves up again and be ready to go again," he added.

Owen Coyle was quizzed about whether his team will be able to carry this good attacking form, which they showed in the second half, into the next match against Odisha FC.

He said, "We will look and analyze the game, we have to learn from our mistakes. If you are going to commit those mistakes then you are going to concede a lot of goals. It's just like unforced errors in tennis," the Chennaiyin FC boss answered.

"We are a team that can be pleasing on the eye. We have scored goals, we have gifted players. But, we need that balance and we know we can score goals, win games. A win tonight would have been great, but we are not a million miles away. We are playing catch-up, but we need to eradicate the mistakes," he concluded.