The British coach believes that Odisha have not defended poorly but isolated decisions are hurting the side.
Odisha FC, languishing at the bottom on the Indian Super League (ISL) table, are the only side yet to win a match this season.
With just two draws in eight matches, they have just two points to show for their efforts. However, coach Stuart Baxter is imploring his players to continue believing in themselves as a crucial game against Kerala Blasters comes up on Thursday.
He admits that making the players continue believing in themselves is his biggest challenge in this tough period for the club.
“The biggest issue that we have at the moment is that despite playing well in most games we have not turned that into results. This is the critical phase of the game. In some of them, we have even dominated. This can damage your belief and confidence. These are the things we have been speaking about,” he said.
"I wish I could put it (the solution to Odisha’s woes) in a bottle and make the players drink it. It would be a lot easier. The first thing that needs to happen that the players do not lose belief.
"My father, he was a coach in Aston Villa, said that if you lose and if you lose your belief then that’s a double defeat. But if you lose and retain your confidence then that’s a half defeat. So we are trying to do that.
"We are aware of the tweaks that we need to do. We are doing that and hence we are improving. When the momentum changes, it will change strongly.
“The players must not attract negativity. They must believe strongly. Like Jerry (Mawihmingthanga), he can re-run the pass in his head and know the solution (most of the times). The positive thing is we know the solutions and put them right in our heads and then just carry on.”
The Red and Golds team management will officially lodge a complaint with the AIFF and FSDL against referee Rowan.
East Bengal are set to lodge a complaint with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) against referee Arumughan Rowan, Goal can confirm.
Rowan, who officiated the match between East Bengal and FC Goa on Wednesday evening, made poor decisions in the game that changed the fate of the match, according to the club management.
Skipper Daniel Fox was sent off in the 56th minute of the match after his challenge on Alexander Romario. The English defender was given a red card straight away and East Bengal feels that the decision was harsh on Fox as the red card could have been avoided.
The second decision which the club questions is Bright Enobakhare’s cancelled goal. Surchandra Singh had made a run into the box to score past Mohammed Nawaz but the Gaurs custodian stopped the effort. The ball ricocheted into the path of Enobakhare who found the back of the net but it was disallowed as Surchandra was punished for a foul on the keeper.
The Red and Golds claim that Nawaz had collided with his teammate instead of Surchandra and hence the question of a foul does not arise.
“After every match, the club can give official feedback about the referee. Along with that feedback, we are also lodging a complaint with the AIFF and the FSDL about two major decisions that were questionable. These things need to be corrected because the team is getting affected a lot,”
“The first one is Bright’s second goal which was disallowed. The replays clearly suggest that Surchandra Singh did not touch Mohammed Nawaz and it was an FC Goa player with whom the goalkeeper had collided. The second one is the red card of Danny Fox because when the challenge happened, the referee initially took out the yellow card but it was the assistant referee who suggested that it is a straight red. We feel it was harsh, it was a 50-50 challenge and he got the ball. If East Bengal had 11 players, it would have been a different scoreline.”
’We had more clear cut chances’ - Robbie Fowler delighted with a point against FC Goa
The East Bengal coach was proud of his team’s valiant effort against FC Goa.
A 10-man East Bengal side managed to earn a hard-fought point against FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Wednesday.
The Red and Golds were a man down from the 56th minute when skipper Daniel Fox was sent off for a challenge on Alexander Romario. Despite the sending off, they managed to take the lead in the 79th minute via a scintillating strike from Bright Enobakhare. Unfortunately, their lead was shortlived as substitute Devendra Murgaonkar restored parity for the Gaurs within two minutes.
Coach Robbie Fowler wholeheartedly praised his team’s performance after the draw and claimed that his team had more clear-cut chances than the opposition.
“I am delighted. We played against a good team. We probably lacked possession a bit but we deserved it. We probably had the best chances. They obviously had some chances themselves but ours were more clear cut and there’s were more from set-pieces. Our players were brilliant especially after going down to 10 men. I am delighted with a point but we obviously wanted more,” said the East Bengal coach.
Fowler was left in awe of the Nigerian forward who scored the goal dribbling past four FC Goa players. Fowler said, “We have all seen him (Bright Enobakhare) on the pitch. He enjoys his football and he is such a skilful player and he is in control of the most things he does. I enjoy him watching and he gets you on the edge of your seat.”
“We have got players who missed a lot of pre-season and came in very late so we have to look after the players. I keep saying that we are behind a lot of teams in terms of physical fitness. At times players will get niggles and knocks so we need to make do with the players we got. Tonight the players who came in were fantastic and they certainly did not let me down or the club,” said Fowler.
“We played with 10 men. When you play with 10 men and you are playing a good team who play good football of course you are going to be behind the ball. We defended massively and I proud of the way they worked with each other and helped each other. It was a tough game and I think we did not deserve to lose in any way.”
FC Goa’s Juan Ferrando: We lost two points against East Bengal
FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando felt his side created plenty of chances but failed to make the most of it.
A 10-man East Bengal side held Goa to a 1-1 draw in an Indian Super League 2020-21 clash at the Tilak Maidan, Goa on Wednesday.
It was a disappointing result for the Gaurs as they failed to capitalise on their opportunities in the second half.
FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando was unhappy with the result as he felt that his team lost two points. He mentioned that he was not taken aback by the playing style of East Bengal as they were prepared for surprises.
“I am not so happy after 1-1. We want to win all the points. We lost two points,” Ferrando said after the game.
“We prepare the games with different plans of the opponents. In this game, I am happy because we created spaces and opportunities. Not a surprise for us,” he added.
“After the red card, we tried to make more space. But in transition, we lost the ball and it was a clear opportunity for them. The reaction (after conceding) was good but I am not so happy with the transition when we are working in defence,” Ferrando said.
"When you decide to attack, there is so much space at the back. So much space in behind. At the end we took risks.
“Our mentality is to now to focus on the next game. It is most important for us to work and improve,” he added.
Match Preview: Odisha FC take on Kerala Blasters in search of elusive first win
Winless eight matches into Indian Super League ( ISL) 2020-21, Odisha FC will hope to turn their fortunes around when they face Kerala Blasters FC at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Thursday.
Stuart Baxter’s side lost 3-1 to SC East Bengal in their last fixture, while Kerala Blasters FC were beaten 2-0 by Mumbai City FC in their previous encounter.
Odisha have not been at their best so far particularly up front. The Bhubaneswar-based team have scored just two goals from open play this season out of their total of six. And their best player has been Brazilian forward Diego Mauricio who has scored three goals. Mauricio’s strike partner Manuel Onwu, however, is yet to find the back of the net this season.
At the other end of the pitch a grimmer picture awaits us: Odisha is yet to keep a clean sheet, having conceded 14 goals in all. The experience of Steven Taylor and Jacob Tratt has not helped much so far, and Shubham Sarangi is another name to have disappointed.
Speaking to the media ahead of their game, head coach Baxter said, “Every opponent that we have is potentially an opponent we can get a good result against. A lot of their games have been close. It’s going to be a tight and competitive game. I want us to go into this game knowing that we can win this time.”
Odisha have won just once in their last 13 matches going back to last season. Up against another side not at the top of their game, Odisha will hope to win and end their status as the only team yet to win this season.
Sharing his thoughts ahead of the game, head coach Vicuna said, “Every game is a new challenge. Odisha are no different from others. While we are looking for the three points against Odisha, it needs to be said that they have been performing well. They played well against East Bengal too. We need to control the game and make the most of our chances. But we need to be defensively better as well. Football is a balance between attack, defence and transition. We have to improve in every aspect.”
Kerala Blasters will face Odisha FC next in a battle of two underperforming sides in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Kerala Blasters are having another dismal season. They have gathered just six points from eight matches, with only one win. The lone victory came against Hyderabad FC in December.
The team has simply failed to click together. Kibu Vicuna is yet to find his perfect line-up, even after almost half the season of ISL has been completed. The last outing for the Men in Yellow came against Mumbai City FC, where the Islanders defeated the Blasters.
However, their opponents in their next match are in an even worse position.
Odisha FC are languishing at the bottom of the ISL table currently. They have managed just a couple of points in eight games. Still winless, Stuart Baxter is struggling to get his team on track despite having some big names in their ranks.
Kerala Blasters and Odisha FC have gone head to head on two occasions, both of which were last season. Neither of them managed to get a win in both matches. Although the first one was goalless, the second one ended in a 4-4 goal-fest.
Except Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan’s dominating run so far this season, the next 6 teams (FCG, JFC, BFC, HFC, NEUFC, CFC) are more or less on the same level.
So, wonder if letting go of Cuadrat was a good decision at this stage? I will be interested in following the team performance post Cuadrat’s departure.
Really who will say that orisa fc is in the last position in the league table. The display of football was really high class.
In the first two quarter both the team was even but in the last quarter OFC played exceptionally well.
For KBFC kone and costa was missing in the defense. And as the game progresses that fact came out on the table as loud as possible. In case of attacking they are attacking in numbers. Samad , rahul, Vicente everyone of them tried log rangers to take advantages of the slushy ground.
In the same way OFC was also attacking and defending in numbers. Taylor was leading the team from the “BACK”. and he is the difference between these two teams as of now. Again marecio, jerry and nanda was very much impressive. Arshdip was good under the bar. But the goal he conceived was his fault as we know in slushy ground gripping a ball is not a good option.
More or less good game of football. Looking forward for another exciting 2nd half.
Exciting first half sees Odisha FC concede early, equalize through an own goal and then take the lead through captain Steven Taylor’s second goal of Indian Super League. Can the Juggernauts break the jinx to notch their first win of the season?
UPDATE: The ISL have chalked off Diego’s first goal and made it into a Jeakson Singh own goal. The Brazilian finishes with two goals but they proved to be match winning ones.
Excellent display of football. OFC was brilliant with counter attacking football. Mauricio finishes 2 stunning goals. Garry showcase Hooper got one. All are fine.
Why KBFC looses and OFC wins the game? Answer is defense. This team looses Nishu kumar in the third quarter which actually costs them the loss. For doing well you have to have a constant defense line up with minor changes but in KBFC defense you will see new faces in every game. They have to solve this issue. Rahul KP was not good but Garry Hooper ,yes he got a goal but you know he wasted more moves . Introduction of rohit was a great move actually if he was introduced earlier things could have been different.
Jerry was outstanding today. Again most importantly the counters were ending in the opponent’s box which is important. Nanda was good again. They hold the ground in the last quarter quite well to confirm the win. Being a striker of a bottom most team Diego listed himself in the top goal scorer list incredible isn’t it?.
If OFC continues this brand of football lots of ups and downs in the table is about to happen.
Odisha FC registered their first win in 10 matches in the Indian Super League. Their last win was against North East United FC in February of 2020. Beginning.
