Jamshedpur FC will look to secure their maiden semifinal spot with a win over NorthEast United FC when the two sides meet in an Indian Super League match on Friday.
Jamshedpur are seated second in the standings with 31 points from 16 matches, four adrift of leaders Hyderabad FC, who secured a semifinal spot on Wednesday with a win over Kerala Blasters.
Jamshedpur, though, have played two games less than Hyderabad and Owen Coyle’s wards would eye a top spot and the League Shield besides qualifying for the last four.
“It’s always nice to hear when people say that we have attained the most wins, scored most goals, picked up most points but the truth is, it doesn’t count for anything until you get something tangible and that is our mission this season as we have never been in playoffs to fight out for the trophy,” said Coyle.
Jamshedpur have never won four straight games in ISL, although they have won three on four different occasions, including twice in the current season.
A victory on Friday at the PJN Stadium at Fatorda would see them win four successive games for the first time in the tournament.
“We’ve a lot left to do even though we’ve done really well until this point, but that accounts to nothing,” Coyle said.
“What we have to do moving forward, starting from going against a very good opponent like NorthEast United, is to try to win the game and collect those valuable points which will be our aim on a game-to-game basis.”
Talking about their opponents, the Jamshedpur coach said: “NorthEast United FC are a very good team and I think they are being held back by major injuries and players missing from their squad this season.
“Khalid Jamil is not able to have the player continuity but when they look back to throw their strength at you, we saw their quality the other night when they came back after conceding against a very good Bengaluru side.”
For the Men of Steel, Daniel Chima Chukwu has been in fine fettle since joining them mid-season from SC East Bengal.
The Nigerian forward has scored or assisted in each of his five games for the Red Miners this season. Chukwu has scored four goals and one assist in his five games.
Jamshedpur will miss the services of Boris and Jitendra Singh on Friday along with Jordan Murray who has been injured for some time.
For NorthEast United, a win over Bengaluru saw them snap a 10-game winless run as Deshorn Brown ran the Blues ragged with his stellar performance.
With Brown now fit and Marcelinho also in his elements, Khalid Jamil’s side will be a handful for Jamshedpur as they have nothing to lose at 10th place with just 13 points from 18 matches.
“Brown is one of the best players in the league. You can see in the last game, we got three points in the last game and he played a big role. If we had him fit for more time, we could have done better. He is a great professional and a leader in the team. It is a pleasure to work with him,” said Jamil on Brown.
The last time the two teams met, Jamshedpur edged past NorthEast United 3-2.
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