Jamshedpur FC put in a gritty display to beat FC Goa 1-0 in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) on Friday at the GMC Athletic Stadium. After an uneventful first half, Daniel Chima Chukwu (49’) scored early in the second half for Owen Coyle’s men and that proved to be the only goal of the game.

It was a strong start to the match by FC Goa and they had 67% of the possession in the first 15 minutes. However, they failed to create any clear chances. Debutant Chukwu had the first opportunity for JFC in the 17th minute but failed to hit the target.

Soon after that, Edu Bedia went down injured with pain when he tried to tackle Alexandre Lima. Fortunately for FC Goa, their skipper shook off the injury and continued to play. The Gaurs were unlucky not to score when Ivan Gonzalez's shot hit the crossbar and the subsequent rebound by Edu was brilliantly saved by TP Rehenesh.

Derrick Pereira’s side were punished early in the second half when Chukwu’s shot went in through the hands of Naveen Kumar. This was the first shot on target for the Men of Steel. The Gaurs hit the crossbar again from a shot by Anwar Ali, following a free-kick by Edu.

With 20 minutes left to play, Ivan Gonzalez played an accurate long ball into the box but Alberto Noguera slipped and the chance was squandered. The Gaurs hit the bar for the third time towards the end of the game when Airam Cabrera lashed his left-footed shot onto the woodwork.

Late on in the match, Ritwik Das had a great chance to put the result beyond doubt when he was through on goal with three of his teammates. But he took a heavy touch and the ball was intercepted by Saviour Gama. This proved to be the last significant action of the game.

This result takes the Men of Steel to 2nd in the league table. FC Goa, on the other hand, dropped down to 9th and now face an uphill battle to make the semi-final. Jamshedpur FC’s next match is against Bengaluru FC on 5^th February, while FC Goa take on Odisha FC on Tuesday.