Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle expressed his disappointment over his team's defensive lapses in their 3-1 loss to Punjab FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Thursday. Coyle pointed out avoidable defensive mistakes as the main reason for the defeat, despite Chennaiyin creating more chances and dominating possession for much of the match even leading 1-0 in the first half.

Chennaiyin FC took the lead in the first half through Wilmar Jordan Gil, but Punjab FC roared back after the water break with a quick-fire brace from Luka Majcen. Asmir Suljic extended their advantage, and although Chennaiyin FC pushed hard to get back into the game, it proved too late, even with Gil scoring again in injury time.

In the post-match press conference, Coyle remarked that their defensive lapses created chances for Punjab FC to take.

"We were very comfortable in the first half and scored a very good goal, but we gifted those goals to Punjab. The goals were poor defensively from our side. Punjab had three shots on target throughout the game and 10 attempts in total, so it was very poor defensively for us in the second half," he said.

The head coach highlighted that the conceded goals were avoidable and were down to Chennaiyin FC’s poor decisions.

“We defended very poorly and made bad decisions in defensive situations, which led to the goals. The goals were very, very avoidable, but we made bad defensive decisions, and that cost us,” he stated.

While Chennaiyin FC had more possession and limited Punjab FC’s chances in the first half, Coyle pointed out that they struggled to maintain that discipline in the second half.

“We just have to make better decisions as we did in the first half. Punjab had no shots on target in the first half, just a couple of attacks on the wing, but other than that, they had nothing,” he said.

He also acknowledged Chennayin FC’s lack of ability to finish despite having more possession and shots on target. From six games so far, the Marina Machans have netted 10 goals but have also conceded as many.

“We created more chances. Punjab FC had 10 attempts with three on target, while we had 15 with five on target and more possession. Punjab FC had zero corners, and I think we had five or six. But ultimately, the game is about scoring goals and not conceding, and that’s what we didn’t do. We might need to move a few pieces to get better, but we simply can’t concede goals like that,” Coyle said

Coyle also emphasised the need for a focused defensive effort, particularly after conceding which was lacking within the team, “Sometimes when you’ve lost a goal, you have to reset and focus. Whether it was feeling sorry for ourselves or whatever, the bottom line is, at this level, you can’t do that. It puts pressure on us, and when you’re under pressure, Punjab FC can be dangerous on the counterattack. They have some very good players. But we know that on another day, we’d be leaving here with three points, so that’s what’s doubly disappointing.” he added

Looking ahead, Coyle underscored the importance of regrouping. He said, “We will look at it, assess it, and then refresh. We have another away game coming up, which will make it five away games out of seven in our first ten matches. It’s a big task, but we will deal with it head-on and get ourselves ready.”

Coyle stressed that players need to learn from their mistakes and hinted at potential changes to be made “Players make mistakes, but good players learn from them. When you keep repeating mistakes, you find yourself out of the team. I’m always loyal to my players, but it’s fair to say there will be some changes now, as we cannot keep making mistakes like we did tonight.” he emphasised

Chennaiyin FC will look to tighten their defence and reset their approach as they go against Jamshedpur FC next week.