Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle showered praise on his players as they staged a 3-2 comeback win against Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday’s opener.

The Kalinga Warriors took the early lead to the game courtesy of Diego Mauricio’s penalty in the ninth minute.

However, Owen Coyle’s men demonstrated resilience in the second half as they came from a deficit to score three goals. Farukh Choudhary’s four-minute brace just after the halftime break and Daniel Chima Chukwu's debut goal put Chennaiyin FC ahead.

Despite Roy Krishna managing to pull one goal back in the dying minutes, the Marina Machans ended the match with a 3-2 scoreline, securing their first win in the ISL 2024-25 season.

The Chennaiyin FC head coach highlighted his players collective effort and determination behind securing a victory against the Kalinga Warriors at their home. However, Coyle also acknowledged Odisha FC’s squad depth and potential and had words of praise for head coach Sergio Lobera.

“Odisha FC are a very good side with Sergio (Lobera), an outstanding coach, and my very good friend. They have a wonderful team from last year plus some additions this year. Boumous, Jahouh, and Krishna are wonderful players,” Coyle said in the post-match press conference.

“But it's clear that we were very deserving (to win). We were the best team today, for sure,” he added.

The Marina Machans were trailing by a goal at the half-time break. However, they bounced back in the second half to bag their first win in the ISL 2024-25 season.

While quizzed about how he addressed his players during the break, Coyle shared, “We’ve settled our boys at halftime; (by saying) we’re playing very well, creating good chances; we have to keep doing the same. But we needed more intensity, more hunting, and more pressing.”

“We did that in the second half. We’ve scored three goals; it could have been more. It’s all my game management, and we only won a game in Odisha,” he further added.

Odisha FC were unbeaten in the ISL 2023-24 season while playing at the Kalinga Stadium. Coyle has acknowledged that it inspired his players to breach the record with all three points in the opening fixture.

“It has been a fortress. They (Odisha FC) were unbeaten against very good ISL teams last year. That shows the quality of Odisha FC. It probably enhances the performances of Chennaiyin FC today to go and go behind. We kept that focus and mentality that I always speak about,” the head coach explained.

Chennaiyin FC will have to play away from home in seven of their opening ten games. However, Coyle has seen this as a challenge and wanted to go with a winning mentality irrespective of the venue.

Speaking in context, he said, “Seven of our first ten games are away from home. So, whether it’s home or away, we go to play for the win.”

“We didn’t come to Odisha to try and settle for a draw. We don’t play for that. We played on the frontfoot, looking to win the games, even when we were behind. And we did it very well. Some outstanding performances. But the biggest thing is the team for us,” he signed off.

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Chennaiyin FCOdisha FC2024-2025