Jamshedpur and Odisha will go head to head in the first clash of February in the Indian Football League 2020-21. Both sides had shared the spoils in its last two matches and are unbeaten in the last three matches.
Match Timings: Feb 01, 7:30 PM IST
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Odisha and Jamshedpur start the February fixture tonight with an important mid-table clash in Indian Football League. The race for the playoffs is too high, and the Red Miners are still in contention. Jamshedpur played a goalless draw with Kerala in its previous match, which hurt Jamshedpur’s preparation for the playoffs. The Red Miners got some good chances, but they didn’t avail it. In the early seven minutes, Jamshedpur came close to strike when Albino Gomes made a mistake, and his poor clearance offered Nerijus Valskis a solid chance, but Gomes came with a fine diving save. TP Rehenesh provided a good save to stop Jordan Murray to goal for Kerala.
The second half was dominated by Kerala, and Murray created few opportunities. Jamshedpur had the golden chance to find a winner in the 89th minute when Seityasen Singh’s shot was blocked by Narender Gahlot. Red Miners will mark Peter Hartley's welcome, who missed the last match due to a suspension. New signings, Farukh Choudhary and Seiminlen Doungel, have also boosted the side. Points-table is interesting for Jamshedpur, and the late success of Northeast and Hyderabad created trouble for them. Victory can take them to the sixth spot, and later, they can back themselves to book the place in the playoffs. In the last four matches, Red Miners scored only one goal, and out of the previous five, they conceded a clean-sheet thrice to the opposition.
Meanwhile, Odisha are going into the final proceedings of its disappointing campaign, but they had better results in the previous month where they recorded its first victory of the season. In the last outing, Odisha played a 1-1 draw with the Blues. It was Bengaluru’s game. Odisha took the lead in the 8th minute, courtesy of a free-kick from Jerry Mawihmingthanga. Jerry played the ball wide to Manuel Onwu, and the Odisha-forward delivered a low cross to Diego Mauricio, who did the final job. Blues tried to gain opportunities, and Arshdeep Singh came to spoil their party. He stopped substitute Kristian Opseth to score through a free-kick on target.
In the 52nd minute, Odisha was in deep trouble, but Arshdeep saved a header from his own defender Gaurav Bora. Later, they got a chance to make the lead double when Manuel Onwu played a ball to Jerry, but Bengaluru's goalkeeper attempted a low save. In the 82nd minute, the wall of Arshdeep was broken when Paartalu headed the ball into the net through a corner kick from Cleiton Silva. Cole Alexander will miss the game after serving the fourth yellow card in his previous match. The new signings Brad Inman might get the first game after the omission of Marcelinho from the club. Both sides had met previously this season, and they appeared in a thrilling 2-2 draw. Nerijus Valskis scored a brace, and Diego Mauricio netted twice to share the spoils.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Odisha
Arshdeep Singh; Cole Alexander, Diego Mauricio, Gaurav Bora, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Vinit Rai, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Jacob Tratt, Manuel Onwu, Steven Taylor, Rakesh Pradhan
Current Form: D D L D W
Previous Match: 1-1 draw with Bengaluru
Jamshedpur
Rehenesh TP; Laldinliana Renthlei, Narendra Gehlot, Stephen Eze (C), Ricky Lallawmawma, Aitor Monroy, Alex Lima, Farukh Choudhary, Nick Fitzgerald, Seiminlen Doungel, Nerijus Valskis
Current Form: D D L L L
Previous Match: a goalless draw with Kerala
Key Players
Odisha
Diego Mauricio
7 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Steven Taylor
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Current Form: D D L D W
Previous Match: 1-1 draw with Odisha
Jamshedpur
Nerijus Valskis
8 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Stephen Eze
3 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
