Alison Kharsyntiew: We were clinical in the final third and in defence

This was the Highlanders' first win in their last seven games.

On Sunday, Indian Super League (ISL) outfit NorthEast United thumped Jamshedpur FC  2-1 at the Tilak Maidan in Goa. Veteran defender Ashutosh Mehta drew first blood in the first half, while new signing Deshorn Brown doubled the lead early in the second. Jamshedpur tried to revive the game by pulling a goal back in the last minutes through captain Peter Hartley, but that wasn’t enough. Assistant coach of the Highlanders Alison Kharsyntiew spoke to the media after the game and shared his thoughts, “I feel we did very well in terms of attacking. We played very well, moved the ball very well, we were very clinical in the final third and we also defended very well.”

Chat before match

NorthEast United showed aggression from the first minute and when asked about the chat before the game, he answered, “Nothing as such. Coach told us to go out there, give the best effort and work hard.”

On Deshorn Brown

NorthEast United roped in Jamaican marksman Deshorn Brown from Bengaluru FC earlier this month and in his first outing he scored a goal. When questioned about his role in the team for the remaining campaign, he said, “This goal will give him confidence going into the remaining matches.”

On NorthEast’s defence.

NorthEast United’s defence was put under a lot of pressure in the second half and dropped their intensity as the game went by. Speaking on the same Kharsyntiew quoted, “Because of the humidity we lacked intensity, but that is not an excuse and in 90 minutes you need to work hard.”

On plan against Valskis

The coach disclosed their plan to stop JFC’s star striker Nerijus Valskis and quoted,” We know he is a good striker, we need to mark him tight, don’t give him lots of space, don’t give time on the ball, don’t allow him to turn,” Alison Kharsyntiew signed off.