Jamshedpur FC registered their first win in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 with a 2-1 victory over ATK Mohun Bagan at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Monday. A brace from Nerijus Valskis sealed the win for Jamshedpur and their head coach Owen Coyle believes that the victory will be a ‘psychological boost’ for his team.

“Winning the match was a psychological boost for us and we feel that we deserved to win. To do it against a team that had not yet conceded a goal was nice, but the three points were more important for us. To get this victory in the manner that we did tonight was pleasing because from start to finish there is no doubt that we were the better team,” he said at the post-match press conference.

Coyle got his tactics spot-on against ATK Mohun Bagan – a team that had not conceded before their match against Jamshedpur. “We knew we had to take the game to ATK Mohun Bagan because this was a team that had not conceded a goal this season,” Coyle said.

The Jamshedpur FC head coach went on to heap praise on goalkeeper TP Rehenesh, who made important saves to help his side get the win. “I thought Rehenesh was brilliant when he was called upon, making some crucial saves when ATK Mohun Bagan were threatening at 2-0,” Coyle said.

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

Meanwhile, ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Antonio Habas dismissed claims of a weakness in his team’s defence. “I don't think there was a weakness in the defence. We conceded two goals in set-pieces. We know that the opponents are dangerous during free-kicks and corners and we spoke about this possibility. The problem is that we could not get the ball from our pitch to the pitch of the opponent [in transition],” Habas said after the game.

Habas, however, did admit that his side need to improve their defending during set-piece situations after conceding both goals against Jamshedpur from corners. “Yes, it is true [that we need to improve at set-pieces], but I am not worried. We have to improve and train for those kinds of situations and we have to play the ball in the opponent’s area,” he said.

When asked if the absence of Javier Hernandez and David Williams due to injury played a role in their defeat, Habas said: “I have a lot of confidence in the players who played today. There are no excuses in football. Today Javier and Williams could not play but that is not an excuse for the loss.”

Watch Antonio Lopez Habas' Post-Match Press conference here: