ISL: Despite slump, top four chance now beckons for NorthEast and Jamshedpur
NorthEast United FC, a team in crisis, take on Jamshedpur FC, a team which finds itself in the middle of a slump in form in Sunday's early Indian Super League (ISL) kick-off at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco.
There is not a lot between the two sides at present. Jamshedpur are seventh, a point and a spot above NEUFC, with 13 points from 11 games.
The head-to-head stats certainly favour Owen Coyle's team as they are yet to lose to their opponents in the last seven meetings, which have ended in two wins and draws in the other five matches. A win for either would put them into the top four.
NorthEast were flying at one point in the season with fans and pundits praising the team's organisation under coach Gerard Nus. But since those heady days, the team have gone seven games without a win which ultimately resulted in the team management deciding to part ways with Nus. They have replaced the Spaniard with Khalid Jamal, who created history with Aizawl FC in the I-League.
"Khalid is a good coach. He has been very successful in Indian football and I'm sure he will bring in a lot in terms of performance and results. We have to be consistent in our performances and if we are consistent, I'm sure we will reach the top four. We have to work hard as a team and give our best," assistant coach Alison Kharsyntiew said.
The Red Miners, on the other hand, come into the game on the back of two defeats on the trot with their last game against FC Goa being one of their worst performances of the season. But Coyle feels more than inconsistency, mistakes in defence have cost his side.
"I don't think it's inconsistency. We lost the first game of the season, then had a fantastic unbeaten run and then obviously we had a break and came back into it with a loss. We know that we didn't play as we would have liked the other night (in the 3-0 loss to Goa) but we created numerous chances. We've made
mistakes, both individually and collectively, and we've been heavily punished for it. Certainly the Kerala game, we made a lot of mistakes. And even against Goa, Goa played very well but their chances and the goals that they scored came from our mistakes. So that's something that we have to rectify," the former
Burnley manager said.