After pulling off a big upset against Mohun B., Jamshedpur faces another I-League giant, East Bengal, in the Thursday encounter of the Indian Football League 2020-21.
Match Timings: Dec 10, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
The debut season in Indian Football League is offering tension for Robbie Fowler. East Bengal lost its first three matches, and they haven’t scored a single goal this season. It’s a woeful start to the season, and sitting at the bottom, Bengal will now face Jamshedpur, the side who defeated the tournament’s strongest side, Mohun B., in its previous encounter.
Bengal started on a disappointing note against Northeast as Ashutosh Mehta got an early yellow card in the second minute of the game. East Bengal failed to get a penalty in the 20th minute. Pilkington was in prime form, but his shot went wide, and he couldn’t draw any score. In the 33rd minute, Surchandra Singh scored an own goal, and the disappointment continued for Bengal. After a promising first half, North East came strong in the second half. In the 83rd minute, Bengal claimed a second penalty, and the referee avoided it. In injury time, Rochharzela sealed the game for the Highlanders through VP Suhair’s assistance.
Everything is going in a disappointing way for Robbie Fowler. East Bengal created good chances in the previous game and had good possession. They had reasonable shouts for two penalties, and replay favoured Robbie Fowler’s side, but the referee denied both. Pilkington’s best game assured Fowler that the Norwich City man will surely score a goal in upcoming matches.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpur showed some spark in its first three games, and the best outcome came in the big match. The Red Miners broke the 3-matches winning streak of the Mariners. Last season's Golden Boot winner Nerijus Valskis scored a brace for Jamshedpur to find three points against a formidable opponent. Red Miners earned some early corners, and Center-back Peter Hartley won his header, but the ball deflected for another corner. William Lalnunfela had a good chance to score, but he missed out. Mariners got a half-chance again from Edu Garcia’s free-kick, but the scoreline remained the same.
In the 30th minute, Valskis opened the scoring through Aitor Monroy’s superb pass. Mohun B. was on the front foot for the first time this season, and in the second half, Mariners tried to break Jamshedpur’s defense. In the 66th minute, Valskis assured three points with another goal. Roy Krishna scored the only goal for the Mariners. Jamshedpur has now picked up four points from three games, and they would aim to carry the form against struggling Bengal.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
East Bengal
Lineup: Debjit Majumder; Scott Neville, Mohammed Irshad, Rana Gharami; Abhishek Ambekar, Matti Steinmann, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Narayan Das; Anthony Pilkington, Jacques Maghoma; CK Vineeth
Current Form: L L L
Previous outing: 2-0 loss against Northeast
Jamshedpur
Lineup: TP Rehenesh; Laldinliana Renthlei, Stephen Eze, Peter Hartley, Ricky Lallawmawma; Aitor Monroy, Amarjit Singh Kiyam; Jackichand Singh, Alex Lima, William Lalnunfela; Nerijus Valskis
Current Form: W D L
Previous outing: 2-1 victory against Mohun B.
Key Players
Jamshedpur
Nerijus Valskis
15 goals & 6 assists in Indian Football League 2019-20
5 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Jackichand Singh
5 goals in Indian Football League 2019-20
East Bengal
Anthony Pilkington
2 goals in pre-season 2020
Mirshad Michu
2 clean-sheets in I-League 2020-21
