Peter Hartley, the skipper of Jamshedpur FC, believes his side need to keep the momentum going for the upcoming games of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season after winning their first game of the season in their previous match against NorthEast United FC.

The defender stated that motivation and momentum are key factors to keep going from strength to strength in the Hero ISL, and backs his team to get a positive result as they clash against FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Goa, on Thursday.

The 34-year-old believes that no matter where they play, the fans in Jamshedpur will keep supporting the team while watching the games on big screens back home.

Hartley spoke to Jamshedpur FC in an exclusive chat about his return to the playing field after coming back from an injury, his thoughts on the upcoming game, and a lot more.

Here are the excerpts:

How was the preparation for your first away game?

It is always disappointing to miss games, but things went out of my hands when the decision was made. The boys got a fantastic result against Mumbai City FC, and now I feel fortunate enough to come back into the team. The boss selected me for the last game, and I hope I repaid the faith by getting the goal and contributing towards a cleansheet.

Now hopefully, if I get selected again, we will try to get another positive result and keep the momentum going. Because, as we all know from the Hero ISL, keeping the momentum going forward is a must.

What can you say about the team’s motivation for the upcoming clash against FC Goa? Especially after the first win in this season of the Hero ISL.

We are very motivated. The way we see it now is that we are unbeaten in the last two games, but FC Goa are very good opponents, so we have got to show them the respect they deserve. We are very fortunate to have had the chance to play them in the pre-season and to have got an idea of how they are going to play and what kind of players they have.

In a tight game in the pre-season, we drew (1-1). The whole team is looking forward to the game and excited to get a result.

How do you see FC Goa as an opponent?

Even though they were defeated in the last game by Hyderabad FC, they got beat in a good manner. It is a silly thing to say, but that was a good performance from them, no matter the end result (three points), which was what they were out to get. We go into every game with full faith and full expectations of winning the game, and we intend to do the same against FC Goa.

Have you got any messages for the fans?

When we play away from home, the whole team knows that everyone in Jamshedpur is watching us and supporting us on the big screen. We wanted them to know that we still feel their support even after being in Goa, and we need you all to keep backing the boys like you did in our last win, so hopefully we can bring the three points home.

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Jamshedpur FC Match 21,FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FCPeter Hartley