Owen Coyle lauds Valskis-Stewart partnership following Goa win

The JFC boss also revealed why Eli Sabia was not started against the Gaurs.

Jamshedpur FC defeated FC Goa 3-1 in an Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 clash on Friday, to ensure that the Gaurs don't have the comeback they were hoping for after a disappointing opening game. Nerijus Valskis combined twice with Greg Stewart to score a brace, before Jordan Murray sealed the deal for Owen Coyle and co by scoring from his first touch. Airam Cabrera scored the only goal of the Gaurs in the 86th minute.

After the clash, Jamshedpur FC head coach Coyle met with the media to discuss his team's solid victory.

On young Indian players

Owen Coyle was delighted with the performances of the young players. He was not just impressed by the ones he had at JFC but also with FC Goa's goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. He thinks very highly of them and hoped that they will get better.

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"I'm delighted with Komal Thatal and Boris Singh. We like them, and they're young and exciting. They will all get better. We give the young players opportunities, and we will continue to do it," he said.

On  the decision to start Greg Stewart

Greg Stewart was a welcoming inclusion in the starting lineup of Jamshedpur FC. He combined twice with Nerijus Valskis to assist the first two goals of the Red Marines. Owen Coyle tried to explain why he left out Eli Sabia and started Greg ahead of him.

"It was a tough decision to make not to start Eli Sabia. He's one of the best centre-backs in the league, and he has a fantastic partnership with Peter Hartley. But Greg [Stewart] is still not used in full effect. There's more to come from him. Mark my words that he will continue to get better. Jordan [Murray] is not playing at his 100% yet. So obviously, Jordan can only give us 15-20 mins. But when he is fully fit, it will be a challenge as the head coach. It is a good problem to have," he explained.

On the performance of his team

Owen was happy to see his Indian youngsters play well. He believes the best is yet to come and that on any other day, Jamshedpur could have scored five or six goals.

He expressed, "I have to say that I like the young Indian players. They are all getting better. It was a tremendous performance. We scored three goals. We could've scored five or six if truth be told. And that is against a very good FC Goa side."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sIY2DL_1Fs

On Jamshedpur's gameplan against FC Goa

Jamshedpur allowed FC Goa to have the lion's share of possession. They were content with Goa making three times as many passes as they completed. Coyle wanted his team to defend well with discipline and focus.

Owen Coyle explained, "When you play against them, from my experience, you've to work so hard against the ball. Because they move, they pass and the young wingers coming off the sight. So we had to make sure we are focused, disciplined and in good shape against the ball. We had to play with high intensity. We had to go with real speed and be positive. And that's what we did tonight, and it came really well together."

On the partnership of Nerijus Valskis and Greg Stewart

As aforementioned, Greg and Valskis combined well to break the deadlock from an open play before finishing a setpiece to double Jamshedpur's lead. The partnership doing well didn't surprise Owen as he has seen the duo work very hard in training.

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When asked if he liked the partnership and would continue to play them together, he answered, "Yeah, I'm delighted. But that's something that didn't happen out of nowhere. We worked very hard in training. They like playing with each other, and they're very comfortable. They're clever footballers, and you've seen that."

On Valskis' performance

Finally the JFC tactician was happy to see Valskis get back to his best after a barren run of games. He was content to see his forward score in an important game.

He said, "I've always said that when Valskis is at his best, he is one of the top strikers in the league. And when he is at his best, he is like that, as you've seen that tonight. As is young Jordan Murray, who's getting better and better. We needed to get better in qualities of support. Greg Stewart is now playing there, and he is clever," Owen Coyle signed off.

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