High-flying Jamshedpur takes on the hosts Goa in the last clash before the Christmas break in Indian Football League 2020-21. Jamshedpur delivered Northeast the first loss of the season, while Goa were outperformed by Chennai.
Match Timings: Dec 23, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Jamshedpur turned out as the underdogs after the first month of the Indian Football League. After defeating the strong Mariners, the Red Miners stopped the unbeaten run of Northeast. With the defeat of Bengaluru against Mohun B., now each team has lost at least one game this season. Jamshedpur pulled off a great improvement after losing the opening match to Chennai.
In the previous match, the Red Miners replicated its strong defense, and TP Rehenesh played a vital role in getting the full three points against Northeast. After a goalless first half, Aniket Jadhav struck for Jamshedpur in the 53rd minute through a superb pass from Issac. Northeast almost got an equaliser in the 65th minute as Stephen Eze brought down Benjamin Lambot, and Highlanders got a penalty, but TP Rehenesh saved it. Northeast made few changes to attack more in the final 20 minutes, but Peter Hardly and Eze both held Highlanders to score any goal.
Jamshedpur could have scored more, but they didn’t convert the fine crossed from Isaac and Alex Lima. The Red Miners had just 57% passing accuracy, but they won the second half, and it scripted the second win for them. Owen Coyle sent Alex Lima in central midfield, and Jackichand Singh played behind Nerijus Valskis as an attacking midfielder. Jackichand and Isaac set up the goal for Aniket in the 53rd minute. Aniket almost got the finest goal of the season, but he was unlucky. Rehenesh is a survivor of Jamshedpur this season. He saved Sylla's penalty to seal the previous game for his side. The Indian goalkeeper has the most saves (19) this season and kept two clean sheets. For this match, Aitor Monroy will be back after serving the suspension, following the red card against Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Goa’s campaign is a roller-coaster ride. They picked up the tone but slipped one more time. In the previous match, they lost to struggling Chennai and moved to seventh in the table. The first half was intense, and Chennai started the scoring with skipper Rafael Crivellaro’s strike in the 5th minute through a corner kick. Goa equalised four-minute slater through Jorge Ortiz. Ortiz passed the ball to Romario Jesuraj, and Romario cut the ball back into the box with Ortiz sent it past Vishal Kaith.
Chennai tasted Goa’s defense in the first half, and both teams finished on 1-1 going into the second half. In the 53rd minute, Rahim Ali scored the winner for Chennai through a fine cross from Crivellaro. Csaba Laszlo’s side didn’t offer any chance and pushed its defense tight to earn three points. Edu Bedia and Alberto Noguera failed to replicate the genuine center-backs Ivan Gonzalez and Lenny Rodrigues. The defense lacked most in the previous match, and Nawaz’s poor kick is a big issue. They gave easy sitters to Chennai, but it was Chennai’s fault who failed to win these.
The Gaurs has faced Jamshedpur four times, and out of three outings in Indian Football League, Goa defeated Red Miners once, including one draw and one defeat. In its most recent match, they overcame Jamshedpur 5-0, and they also defeated Red miners in Super Cup last year 4-3.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Jamshedpur
Lineup: TP Rehenesh, Laldinliana Renthlei, Stephen Eze, Peter Hartley, Ricky Lallawmawma, Mohammad Mobashir, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Jackichand Singh, Alex Lima, Aniket Jadhav, Nerijus Valskis
Current Form: W D D W D
Previous Match: 1-0 victory over Northeast
Goa
Lineup: Mohammad Nawaz, James Donachie, Seriton Fernandes, Saviour Gama, Aiban Dohling, Edu Bedia, Alexander Jesuraj, Brandon Fernandes, Jorge Mendoza, Alberto Noguera, Igor Angulo
Current Form: L L W W D
Previous Match: 2-1 defeat against Chennai
Key Players
Jamshedpur
TP Rehenesh
19 saves & 2 clean-sheets in Indian Football League 2020-21
Nerijus Valskis
6 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Goa
Igor Angulo
6 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Jorge Mendoza
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
