Jamshedpur will face Bengal in the first Sunday doubleheader clash of Indian Football League 2020-21. Red Miners are coming off a 1-0 victory against Odisha, while Bengal suffered a 2-0 loss to Blues in the last tie.
Match Timings: Feb 07, 5 PM IST
Match Preview
Jamshedpur earned full three points against Odisha in the last encounter after playing two consecutive goalless draws against Hyderabad and Kerala. Red Miners were confident from the starting of the match. Stephen Eze got an early goal-kick when he got the ball from Jerry Mawihmingthanga. Seiminlen Doungel made a good run to take a shot, but Arshdeep Singh made a fine save. Doungel and Narender Gahlot created some passes, and Odisha took them down. Forward Nerijus Valskis came close to strike, but Arshdeep Singh stood like a wall to deny Jamshedpur a first-half lead. Red Miners finally went past Arshdeep when he made the mistake of allowing Mohammad Mobashir to find Valskis in the box. Arshdeep Singh missed out Mobashir’s cross to offer a 1-0 lead to Jamshedpur.
Diego Mauricio and Jerry combining tried hard for the equaliser. Odisha was also unlucky twice due to poor referral. Mauricio fell to the floor, and Odisha appealed for a penalty, but referee Santhosh Kumar denied it. In the 82nd minute, Jerry provided a decent pass to Mauricio, and Brazilians was brought down by TP Rehenesh. It was a clear penalty call, and one more time, the referee denied it. Jamshedpur could have scored more goals, but they failed to avail themselves opportunities. They cannot go beyond the poor referring, but the standard of referring has been so poor in this tournament. The Red Miners are still in the playoffs contention.
Meanwhile, Bengal suffered a clinical defeat to Blues, and they had zero shots on target, which shows Bengal’s poor show in Vasco da Gama. Bengal had an early chance through Harmanpreet Singh, but Ajith Kumar blocked him. Bright Enobakhare’s corner-kick was also fumbled by Gurpreet Singh, but Blues cleared it with another corner. Bengaluru took the lead in the 12th minute through Cleiton Silva. Sunil Chhetri headed down a long kick from Gurpreet and then, Cleiton Silva sent the ball into the net. Bengal got a free-kick, but Bright’s shot hit the wall. Blues kept Bright silent to avoid any equaliser. Parag Srivas helped Blues to double the lead. Right-back Rahul Bheke produced a cross for Parag, and the ball hit Debjit Majumder’s leg. Bengal conceded an own goal, and Blues ended the first half with a 2-0 lead.
Red and Golds were not in good touch at the starting of the second half, and Blues looked to add more goals. Brigade who badly required a goal. Anthony Pilkington couldn’t hold his header down when he got a good cross from Yumnam Singh. Bengal were outstanding in the last month, and they added two victories against Bengaluru and Odisha. Mumbai ended its winless streak of seven matches. From the last three matches, Kolkata giants suffered two defeats and played one draw with Goa. The playoffs look dull, but Bengal can aim for a better finish in its debut campaign. Bengal will be without its head coach Robbie Fowler. AIFF suspended him for 4 matches and fined him Rs 5 lakh for criticism of on-field refereeing decisions.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Jamshedpur
TP Rehenesh; Narender Gahlot, Laldinliana Renthlei, Peter Hartley, Stephen Eze, Alexandre Lima, Mohammad Mobashir, Seiminlen Doungel, Nerijus Valskis, Nicholas Fitzgerald, Farukh Choudhary
Current Form: W D D L L
Previous Match: 1-0 victory against Odisha
Bengal
Debjit Majumder, Narayan Das, Scott Neville, Daniel Fox, Ankit Mukherjee, Ajay Chhetri, Matti Steinmann, Aaron Joshua Holloway, Wahengbam Luwang, Bright Enobakhare, Harmanpreet Singh
Current Form: L D L D D
Previous Match: 2-0 loss against Bengaluru
Key Players
Jamshedpur
Valskis
8 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Stephen Eze
3 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Bengal
Matti Steinmann
3 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Bright Enobakhare
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
