Jamshedpur FC head coach Aidy Boothroyd expressed his satisfaction at securing a 1-1 draw away at Mumbai City FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) as he discussed his team’s set-piece tactics and praised a performance that helped keep the opposition of such high calibre quiet in their own turf.

Boothroyd felt his team could have even walked away with all three points at the end but would take a point from an encounter that was closely-fought.

Match Report: Jamshedpur FC neutralise Stewart threat to claim a point against Mumbai City FC

The man in charge of Jamshedpur FC expressed his concerns about losing Greg Stewart, but he is still certain that progress will be made and that the team will continue to build on what has been accomplished thus far to perform well as the season goes on.

Here are the excerpts from Boothroyd’s press conference:

If we are to speak about the goal your team scored, was that long throw strategy something the team has worked upon constantly?

We work on our set piece strategies as we have got good long throw and free-kick specialists, it can be an added weapon and we do work on it all the time in the training ground. When you come away to clubs like these and play against a team of such great quality then we have to keep it quiet because there is always a chance from a set play. I was pleased with tonight’s outcome considering it was a makeshift performance from my team and we ended up being our best.

You have been on the road and away from the home fans against a strong side. Considering that, do you think this is a good result, coming out of it with a solitary point?

It is a really good result because the opposition (MCFC) are a good team with a good coach and we needed to have a game plan for the evening which was a success in the end because we managed to stop them from playing their game and get ourselves some chances towards the end where we would have had all three points. But, if you get a point away from home and three at home then that is going to put us in a strong position.

Considering how we lost our last game, I was very delighted to have seen this one out and think we deserved it.

Earlier you mentioned about not having a like to like match for opposition’s (MCFC’s) Greg Stewart. But as the match went along he (Stewart) was seen dropping deeper into the midfield. So, do you consider that as a success because he is one of the most dangerous players as your team even kept him away from scoring tonight?

They (MCFC) do have a lot of good players but we certainly made it frustrating for every single one of them out there and I will give a great compliment to how my players defended while keeping a man on him (Stewart) constantly and quiet him down throughout the game as we know how difficult he can be for a player to play against. Thankfully, it was not a fairytale ending for Stewart but a very professional performance from us.

Considering the overall gameplay of the team, do you think they are still a work in progress since you are yet to win a match?

It has been only two games into the Hero ISL 2022-23 season. But, yes definitely we are still a work in progress. We want to play an aggressive and pressing game and want to be a threat on the counters while also being good on the ball while in possession. Since everything cannot be done at once and it is dependent on the decision making of the players after the work we do during the week.

It is a new dawn for Jamshedpur FC and we want to keep building on the top work that has already been done.