Antonio Iriondo: Rafael Crivellaro was very difficult to stop for us

The Jamshedpur FC head coach also revealed that a low-budget squad is not helping his side this season.

Jamshedpur FC’s playoffs hopes took a big dent, as they fell to a 1-4 loss to Chennaiyin FC on Friday. A brace from Indian Super League top scorer Nerijus Valskis along with strikes from Andre Schembri and Lallianzuala Chhangte sealed the Men of Steel’s fate, after Sergio Castel had pulled one back for them. Following the defeat, Jamshedpur FC boss Antonio Iriondo interacted with the media in the post-match press conference.

Antonio Iriondo was clearly dejected with the loss, which he compared to losing a final, but remained optimistic of the challenges ahead. “It felt like a final. It looks like we didn’t have the proper team to win this battle. There are more finals to come, so we look forward to them,” he said.

[KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

The Spaniard rued his side’s inability to create clear goalscoring chances, being blunt about how Chennaiyin FC were much better on the day. “We’re not really happy. We weren’t deep enough. We got the goal, but we didn’t create too many quality chances,” Antonio Iriondo expressed.

“On the other side, Chennaiyin FC had the quality we lacked. The match looked like men against kids. Their forward players were better than our strikers and their defenders were better than ours. They pretty much outplayed us," the tactician added.

Antonio Iriondo also indicated that having a low-budget squad hasn’t helping Jamshedpur FC and insisted that the difference in quality resulted in the loss. He explained, “Money doesn’t score goals. We know that. In the past, we’ve succeeded against teams with lower budgets. But, the reality is that money helps you to get better players. If you take a look at Chennaiyin’s squad, their front four are very good and they created a lot of quality chances."

[KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

“In our side- apart from Sergio (Castel) who is still recovering from injury- the other players aren’t improving anything. In defence, we struggled as Tiri isn’t here. With all the injuries, we played with many 18-year-old kids and for them, it’s difficult to play in these kind of situations,” Antonio Iriondo quipped.

Jamshedpur FC changed things in the second half, choosing to take off David Grande for CK Vineeth and changing their shape. But, Antonio Iriondo shrugged off claims that particular adjustment lost the game for his side. He said, “I don’t think that's the reason we lost the game. In the first half, we had more control of the situation. But, every time we lost the ball, Rafael (Crivellaro) caused all the problems. He was very difficult to stop for us."

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

“Their strikers are very good and they had a chance, so they scored. In the second half, we tried to play three midfielders to control things more. I don’t think we did so perfectly, but it was better. But still, every time they stole the ball they capitalized on it and scored the goals,” the Jamshedpur FC boss added.

Antonio Iriondo remained tight-lipped about the penalty calls Jamshedpur FC had in the game, refusing to blame the referee. He said, “Yes obviously, the penalty could’ve changed the direction of the match. But, the referee didn’t see the penalty and we had to move on from that. It’s not my job to teach the referees how to perform. My job is to work with my team and train them to be the best."