Jamshedpur FC sealed a 1-0 victory over Odisha FC in Match 79 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Monday. Mohammad Mobashir scored the only goal of the game in the first half and Jamshedpur kept their third consecutive clean sheet to secure the three points.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Jamshedpur head coach Owen Coyle hoped that the win can boost his team’s semi-final chances. “We had two draws and two clean sheets and that gave us a platform to go forward, which we did. After scoring the goal, we had chance after chance to get two or three goals from the game while also accepting that Odisha are a dangerous team. These three points will push us back into the fight [for a top four spot],” Coyle said after the game.

Monday’s win was Jamshedpur’s first in 2021. They began the year with three straight losses before playing out goalless draws against Hyderabad FC as well as Kerala Blasters FC and Coyle was content having kept another clean sheet during their win over Odisha. “We had to change a few things and we worked very hard to change them. We cannot be conceding like we did [earlier]. That being said, we had a few injuries as well. But it’s important to get the clean sheets,” he said.

Watch Owen Coyle's Post-Match Press conference here:

Meanwhile, Odisha head coach Stuart Baxter was disappointed with his team’s decision-making in the defence but commended his attackers for getting into goal-scoring positions. “I’ll blame the loss on poor decision making in the defensive third and not being brave enough in the buildup play. We did not have the balance or keep our shape. But I thought that once we got into the final third, our movement was quite good,” he said after the game.

Although Odisha are bottom of the league table, Baxter isn’t ready to write off his side’s chances of finishing in the top four yet. “We are in every game. We have not played a team over the last seven or eight games, which we have not been able to [compete with]. We have run every team very close,” the Englishman said.

“Even in this game, it could have been a 1-1 draw. But we need to try and turn one of these into a win and see if that momentum will take us somewhere during the closing stages of the season,” he added.

Watch Stuart Baxter's Post-Match Press conference here: