Odisha FC secured their first points in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 after a 2-2 draw with Jamshedpur FC at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Sunday. After going 2-0 down in the first half, Odisha made the most of their man advantage following Jamshedpur goalkeeper TP Rehenesh’s red card. The Bhubaneswar-based side scored twice through substitute Diego Mauricio to claim a hard-earned point and their head coach Stuart Baxter is hoping that the comeback will help his side kick-start their campaign.

“Two-nil down at halftime and you are looking to score the next goal and we did, and I thought we played quite well in the second half. So, I’m hoping that getting the 2-2 after being two down is the sort of thing that will give the lads a little bit of a lift. If we can work to put some of the other things right maybe, we’ll kick-start something,” Baxter said in the post-match press conference.

When asked if he thought Odisha could have gone on to win the game based on their second half performance, Baxter said: “Given the fact that we were 2-0 down and again giving away two cheap goals, you are looking to obviously make some changes in the second half to make sure you score the next goal and I thought the lads did fantastically well. When you play as well as we did and get the two goals back, maybe you look back say ‘maybe we could have pinched it’ but getting the point after being two goals down, I think that we have to say well done to the lads. I’m hoping that will spark something in the future.”

The 67-year-old was impressed with super-sub Diego Mauricio’s game-changing performance on the night. “Diego was on the bench for a reason because he’s been taking a bit of time to settle and when we have been pressing high, he’s been making some poor decisions that has been putting him out of the game so we found it difficult to find him. He’s had a decent week and when he went on, I gave him a very small area of what I want him to do. I got to admit, I thought he was electric when he went on,” Baxter said.

Watch Stuart Baxter's Post-Match Press conference here:

Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle felt that better passing and match management would have helped his side win all three points. “First half we were absolutely brilliant. Dictated the game, two nothing up. Could have been three or four up, total control of the half and we stressed at halftime that we have to continue to pass the ball and pass it sharply. I think our passing wasn’t as good in the second half as it was in the first and that allowed Odisha to come into the game. They had nothing to lose at two nil down and were throwing men forward. We should have had better game management,” he said.

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