East Bengal will be looking for the first points following its Indian Super League debut when it hosts Jamshedpur FC at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Thursday.
For East Bengal’s celebrated coach Robbie Fowler the current challenge is stopping his side from suffering the fourth consecutive defeat. This in itself would mean that the red and gold side picks up the first point of the tournament after suffering reverses against ATK Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City FC and North East United FC. The team has conceded seven goals without scoring a single and there lies Fowler’s concern. It is about discovering the right combination and shape to break the opponent’s defence.
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“The situation that we presently find ourselves in is not ideal. We want to win games; no one wants to lose. That said, we know that we’re trying to build something that will keep the club where it should be. Success cannot come overnight—you’ve got to understand that. In the games we’ve played so far, not once have we been completely outclassed. That is keeping us in good stead. We’re not far away from a positive result," the Liverpool FC legend added as his team prepared for its second home outing. The first home match was against its traditional rival Mohun Bagan, which it lost.
East Bengal has created chances but its shooting has been the big area of concern. As the statistics indicate the team has a shot accuracy of only 20.51 percent as it has managed just 17 shots from inside the box (second-lowest in the league). “It is not always about the strikers. We need others to get the goals too. I would be more worried if players didn’t create chances. We are creating chances,” Fowler tried to pick out the positives.
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Fowler knows that the task will be big as his side runs against Jamshedpur which is powered by the form of its star striker Nerijus Valskis (five goals in four matches). Added to this is the fact that East Bengal is missing the services of Danny Fox, Loken Meitei and Aaron Amadi-Holloway owing to injury. Fowler revealed before the match that they are still not fit enough for action.
Jamshedpur FC, which downed ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 to pick up its first win of the tournament in its previous outing, is high on confidence. Jamshedpur FC’s Scottish coach Owen Coyle hopes his team will be ready to meet the other Kolkata giant. “It is going to be a tough game as it was against ATK and we need to make sure we are ready for it. They (East Bengal) are very dangerous opponents,” Coyle said. This will be his side’s fifth game in 15 days.
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Coyle said his team is beginning to realise its potential. “It was a game (against ATK MB) we fully deserved to win. So, it was only a matter of time when we turned the draws (against Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC) into wins. Each one of the lads in the side was terrific from start to finish. And that's what we need to move forward, we need those accomplished performances and especially for the duration of the whole match,” said the Jamshedpur FC gaffer.
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