NorthEast United FC head coach Vincenzo Annese rued the missed opportunity to get three points as the Highlanders lost 2-0 to Jamshedpur FC in the latest fixture of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Saturday.

Aidy Boothroyd's men took control of the match from the very beginning as Arindam Bhattacharja came to the rescue, saving Boris Singh's shot before Jay Thomas hit the woodwork from outside the box. Ritwik Das scored the first goal of the night in the 39th minute only for Daniel Chukwu to double the lead in the 57th minute to seal the victory for the Red Miners.

Jamshedpur FC earned their third victory of the season. The Red Miners have 12 points from 17 matches. Meanwhile, the Highlanders suffered their 15th defeat of the season. NorthEast United FC have four points in 17 matches in the season so far.

After the victory on Saturday, Boothroyd's men completed the double over the Highlanders with the team from Jamshedpur winning the reverse fixture 1-0 in October. Annese shed light on how the first half did damage to the team and it's an opportunity missed to get three points.

"I didn't like the first half at all, especially the attitude of some players on the field. The second half was better when we made the changes, moving the ball faster with more desire to fight and change. Unfortunately, the first half was bad, we created only one chance, took one shot, and we were not even trying. Also, Jamshedpur FC didn't do anything, at least they were more intense with ball possession. We didn't press, we were playing backwards, we tried to counter-attack but we missed the opportunity to get the three points," Annese said in the official post-match press conference.

NorthEast United FC are the lowest-scoring team in the league with 13 goals in 17 matches. The Highlanders head coach reiterated how the team would've tried to fight back if the chances were converted.

"Two different halves, different performances in both halves. I liked the second-half performance, we created three chances in front of the goalkeeper, if we had scored then at least we would've tried to enter in the game, it was so important. We created a lot, it's just the first half that I didn't like," Annese said.

The hosts made three changes to the lineup for the fixture against Jamshedpur FC with the skipper, Wilmar Jordan Gil serving his suspension. Annese mentioned how missing key players played a role in the underwhelming performance of the team and he called on players to deliver more in the upcoming matches.

"We missed Emil Benny today, his quality is a big plus for us. Also, our captain Jordan (Gil) was out today. He won't be available against East Bengal FC so it won't be easy against them. I want something more from Romain (Philippoteaux), I want something more from Pragyan (Gogoi), our captain today. We need to believe in our performance for the next game," Annese concluded.