Wasn't surprised by Anirudh Thapa's performance at all, says Owen Coyle

The Jamshedpur FC boss also revealed that it could have been a different result if his side had taken their chances.

It was a tough day at the office for Jamshedpur FC in their Indian Super League season opener against Chennaiyin FC as the Men of Steel lost 1-2. Following the defeat, head coach Owen Coyle interacted in the press conference, speaking about the game on Tuesday night.

Chennaiyin FC opened their account in the very first minute into the game through Anirudh Thapa, who became the first Indian to score in the ISL 2020-21 season. The young midfielder displayed an impressive gameplay as he controlled the temperament of the game and complimented Rafael Crivellaro to roam forward and facilitate the attackers.

Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle, who was with Chennaiyin FC in the 2019-20 season sung praises for the youngster. "He's a very good player and a bright talent. He has a great future ahead of him. And I know his qualities, so no, I wasn't surprised by his performance at all," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUJa6g1gw-I&t=3s

The Men of Steel were also with a few absentees, as they missed the likes of David Grande and Amarjit Singh Kiyam due to injuries. Speaking about the absence of key players, Owen Coyle said," We have had a few injuries with David Grande and Amarjit unavailable due to injuries. Any and every player is an asset to us and having a player unavailable is always a concern. But we did play well. Unfortunately, we conceded two goals early on but we took the game to them and created a lot of chances."

"Stephen Eze, Nerka (Nerijus Valskis) had some decent chances and on another day we could have nicked the game or at least drawn but it wasn't to be," he added.

Owen Coyle seemed very animated at the touchline during the game, often questioning the calls taken by the match officials against his team. He was also seen interacting with the match officials and when asked about it, he revealed, "There were a number of decisions that were not satisfactory from the referees, but well, we have to deal with it. Margins can change games… In any case, we have to deal with it and move on to the next game."

Owen Coyle also shared that Jamshedpur FC started slowly and the early goal made things worse for his side. However, he also feels that the Men of Steel played well in certain areas and had they taken some of the chances it could have been a different result.

"We started slowly and certainly the early goal and the second goal conceding from a penalty didn't help. We started coming back into the game slowly and the momentum was with us which led to the goal scored by Valskis."

"In the second half, both teams huffed and puffed probably due to the heat and fatigue as everyone was just getting upto speed as it was the first match of the season."

"But we showed a lot of endeavour and hunger to get the goals. Obviously, there is disappointment but we have to quickly move on, pick ourselves up and focus on the next game," Owen Coyle concluded.

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