ISL 2020-21, JFC vs ATKMB talking points: Valskis shines, refereeing hurts again

ISL 2020: Here are the talking points from Jamshedpur FC's 2-1 win over ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League on Monday.

Published : Dec 08, 2020 08:43 IST

Jamshedpur FC climbed up a place to seventh on the ISL table after beating ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1.
Jamshedpur FC climbed up a place to seventh on the ISL table after beating ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1.
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Jamshedpur FC climbed up a place to seventh on the ISL table after beating ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1.

Jamshedpur FC (JFC) put in a tenacious shift as it beat ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) 2-1 at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim to earn its first win of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 season.

It was also the first defeat of the season for Antonio Habas' ATKMB as it stayed put on the second position in the table.

Nerijus Valskis put Owen Coyle's men ahead in the 30th minute when he sent a powerful header from Aitor Monroy's corner kick into the back of the net. The Lithuanian made it 2-0 in the 66th minute when he redirected Mohammed Mobashir's corner kick past the goalkeeper.

JFC was denied its first cleansheet of the season when Manvir Singh's header fell for Roy Krishna who rounded off the keeper to score his fourth goal in as many matches.

Here are the talking points from the game.

MATCH REPORT

Krishna's goal raises more questions about refereeing

In the 80th minute, Manvir won a header outside the box with Krishna waiting to run in between the centre backs. The ball fell for Krishna, who wasted no time to round off the keeper and score the goal. However, the Fijian seemed offside by a good distance when the ball came off Manvir's head.

The goal stood as the linesman made no call for offside which incensed Owen Coyle on the touchline. Last season was marred with contentious refereeing as the ISL clubs wrote a letter to the Indian Football Association to address the issue. On Sunday, Mumbai City FC was displeased when the referee chalked out Mourtada Fall's headed goal after Odisha FC goalkeeper clattered into the defender even though he was nowhere near the ball. The debate around poor refereeing could only get bigger from here on.

 

Valskis lifts Jamshedpur

After scoring three goals in the first two matches, star striker Nerijus Valskis had a quiet outing in the 1-1 draw against Hyderabad FC where he registered only one shot on the goal in 90 minutes. The Lithuanian made it look like a minor blip as he was back hunting for goals against ATKMB.

His aerial prowess was on display when he rose higher than the ATKMB defence and sent a thumping header from a corner in the 30th minute. He was once again in position to punish slack defending when he poked home Mobashir's deflection from the corner in the 66th minute. The forward registered five shots overall off which four were on target and almost got his hat-trick if not for a vital block from Sandesh Jhingan.

 

Hartley leads by example

Stopping an ATKMB with its forwardline in rampaging form wasn't going to be easy, but JFC defence, led by Peter Hartley was disciplined throughout the game. Hartley was excellent with his reading of the game as he kept foiling attempts from the midfielders feeding Krishna and Garcia.

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The former Sunderland centre-back had seven clearances, blocked two shots and was able to cut out three crosses into the box. He even had a headed attempt on the goal at the other end. Stephen Eze complimented his partner perfectly as he mopped up the loose balls and hacked clear the half-chances.

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