Gombau content with squad, Ferrando disappointed with slow gameplay

The draw took Jamshedpur to the top of the table.

Jamshedpur FC denied Delhi Dynamos FC their first win of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 season after scoring a late equaliser to hold the Lions to a draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. A first-half strike from Sergio Cidoncha put the visitors ahead until two quick-fire goals by Delhi in the second half turned the match in its head. With 20 minutes to go, it seemed like the Lions were heading towards that elusive first win, but Jamshedpur captain Tiri had other ideas. He levelled things up on the 72nd minute, adding to Delhi head coach Josep Gombau’s growing woes.

Gombau was present at the post-match press conference to answer questions from the media. The Spaniard summarized the game as a tale of two halves. “I think for us, the game had two different halves. In the first half, we weren’t good at attacking. It’s true they didn’t have so many chances in the first half, but we didn’t either. And after that, from one mistake we concede a goal. From the start of the second half, we created chances, we wanted to go for the game, we wanted to win this game. We made three changes at halftime hoping to be more powerful on the attack. And we did that in just fifteen minutes. They have good players and the game was very open. They scored a strong goal. I am satisfied with the work that the boys did in the game, they put the effort.”

Gombau surprised everyone with his decision to use up all his substitutes at halftime, but it eventually worked out as Delhi managed to get back into the game. When asked about the reasoning behind the move, he said, “We took the risk to make three subs at halftime which doesn’t allow the space to make another change. But I felt in the moment, that we needed it. We made three subs and that is something unusual. We were brave, and I think players understand that when you take a decision like this, it is because you are convinced you will change the game. And we changed it in 15 minutes.”

ALSO READ:

• Jamshedpur go top of table after holding Delhi Dynamos to stalemate

• Indian Player Ratings: Albino Gomes shines for Delhi, Robin Gurung has a night to forget

• Exclusive: FC Goa have some talented youngsters like Nawaz, Liston, and Gama– Jackichand Singh

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Going into the game as favourites and coming away with only a point to show for it, Jamshedpur head coach Cesar Ferrando reckoned that his team should look at the match as an opportunity lost. “We lost two points. I am disappointed with the final score but that’s football. Three days ago, we played in an intense match against FC Goa. After that, we had to travel from Jamshedpur to Delhi and the team was tired. We wanted to play with the ball and make short passes. I think we didn’t move the ball quick enough and played slowly in general. We came here to win but we have to settle for the draw,” he said.

Ferrando was also wary of the mistakes his team made in the match and said, "I think we played well in the first half. In the second half, we made big mistakes while Delhi played and came back into the game. In the final minutes, my team was a bit tired. But I was happy that we scored the equaliser. We have to look ahead now and focus on FC Pune City."