Jamshedpur FC managed to snatch away a point from Chennaiyin FC as Isaac Vanmalsawma scored a late equaliser in their seventh match of the season in Jamshedpur.
Jamshedpur’s Spanish coach Antonio Iriondo rued missing key players like Piti and Sergio Castel, which, according to the coach, was an important factor as to why the team could not get a win at home.
Iriondo said, “We lost two points but we did not have two players and lost another (Noe Acosta) during the game. The team will hopefully change and improve with more time.
“We want to play with a few specific kind of players and they are missing right now in the squad. It has been quite difficult to try to develop the game. We are trying to recover them as soon as possible, probably when they are fitter, we will get better results."
Jamshedpur are placed fourth on the table and Iriondo is satisfied that the club are very much in the top half of the standings despite missing key personnel.
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“I am very happy with the situation right now where we are. We are in a high position in the league even after missing important players. We are able to perform with those big players out. So hopefully, we will perform better with them in the team.”
Spanish midfielder Noe Acosta had to leave the field in the 35th minute with a dislocated shoulder after he was fouled by Masih Saighani for which he was shown a yellow card.
Giving an update on Acosta’s injury status, the Spanish manager said, “It looks like a serious injury. He is in the hospital right now. It is a shoulder dislocation. It is an important injury for us at this moment in the league.”
Iriondo had introduced Aniket Jadhav early in the second half and the move worked well for the hosts. Aniket was livewire down the right flank and came close to scoring when his shot was deflected wide by Germanpreet Singh.
Praising the former Indian Arrows player, Iriondo said, “Surely, he had a brilliant match today. Sometimes he lacks focus and that is normal at this age. He is calm, has tremendous skills. We will keep working with him. Hopefully, he will improve."
