Jamshedpur Vs Odisha: Iriondo, Gombau provide contrasting views

Both head coaches met the media following an eventful game on Tuesday.

Tuesday evening saw an exciting encounter between Jamshedpur Vs Odisha as both sides began their Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 campaign at the JRD TATA Sports Complex. The home side took the lead courtesy a Rana Gharami own-goal, but went a man down after Bikash Jairu was sent off in the first half. Odisha equalised but couldn't make the most of their numerical superiority as Jamshedpur clinched the match via a late Sergio Castel strike.

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Watch: Jamshedpur Vs Odisha highlights

After the eventful tie, Jamshedpur head coach Antonio Iriondo thanked his players for their gritty display after Jairu's sending off on the 35th minute of the match. "We couldn’t have practised everything in the training sessions and we didn’t expect to play with one less player. After the red card, we tried to play with the ball on the ground, we played on the counter-attack, we created chances. The players did really well. We need to applaud them because despite going a man down, we controlled the game, which is very difficult. I want to express my gratitude to the players for their effort."

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"It was a fine experience playing at home. There were a lot of people around. Some players are not used to it so there were a few mistakes. But, in the end, we gave everything and won the match," he added.

Asked why Memo was brought on only in the second-half and didn’t start, Iriondo explained, “Memo was injured during the pre-season so there was a lack of fitness. There was no way he could play 90 minutes.”

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Assessing the performance as a whole, he said, “We have to improve in all areas. The match was very competitive and anyone could have won. We have to keep working hard because what we are trying to achieve is not easy. It will take time. We will get better as the season progresses.”

From the Odisha camp, head coach Josep Gombau provided his take on the result and stated, "I think Jamshedpur played very well in the second-half. They were defending very deep. It is very difficult to play like that but it is no excuse to lose after the opponent went one man down."