ISL Analysis | Clinical FC Pune break Jamshedpur’s spirit

BySubhayan Dutta, SportsCafe Editor

12/10/2017

FC Pune City managed to squeeze out an unlikely win in Jamshedpur, after an encouraging, yet reckless, display by the hosts, left them with little chances in the attack. Steve Coppell will have a lot to sort out after today’s game, which saw Jamshedpur creating chances aplenty, with no end product.

Jamshedpur’s direct play bothers Pune, but nothing more

FC Pune have already established themselves as one of the stronger sides in the tournament with their fluid play and accurate passing, and it must have forced Steve Coppell from congesting his defence. The former Reading FC manager has already realised that parking the bus wouldn’t help them rise up the table and they would actually need to take the game to their opponents.

And their tactics looked spot on for much of the first-half as Izu Azuka, Siddharth Singh, and Bikash Jairu were breathing down the neck of Pune’s defence closing in with lightning-quick pace, but their lack of accuracy proved to be the difference. Winning is a habit, which has been growing on Pune since day one while Jamshedpur, at best, have managed to stop teams from scoring. Hence, while Pune made their slim chance count, the hosts failed despite numerous attempts.

The game even started with Jairu missing a half-chance and Azuka a more prominent one in the first-half. However, Jamshedpur’s direct play had long balls into open areas near their forwards and not at their feet. Pune were more than happy to fend off the numerous crosses (23) that summed into just 6 attempts on the goal.

Pune’s defence stands strong

Ranko Popovic’s order were clear as crystal- defend with authority and hunt only when there was enough space. Travelling away from home and on a pitch that has a reputation of being sub-standard, which even gave cramps to some players last game, over-burning was the last thing Pune wanted. They needed their central defence to play a huge role in executing this strategy to perfection and the pairing of Rafael Lopez and Gurtej Singh did it brilliantly.

Though Jamshedpur’s mindless one-dimensional play was hardly too tricky to read, the hosts showed real stamina throughout the 90 minutes and Pune could afford no callousness. Lopez and Gurtez jointly made 13 clearances and 9 blocks. Though not boasting marvellous figures, Marcos Tebar was brilliant in the position ahead of the backline, more for his ability to create dangerous chances up front. With a passing accuracy of 77%, the Spanish midfielder masterminded the midfield spreading passes to the wings. He managed 3 interceptions in the process and even created a chance that almost ended at the back of the net but for Emiliano Alfaro.

The Showstopper

While it was pre-established that the game was between an attacking side and a defensive side, what went contrary to everyone’s expectation was the direction of play by them. Jamshedpur saw much of the ball and chances compared to a very quiet game by Pune. However, the visitors knew the art of winning and took their chance only once from a set-piece. While the victory would go to Pune’s collective display, the only differentiator in the game remained Adil Khan.

With his midfield partner Marcos Tebar more preoccupied with defensive duties, the Indian showed his hunting instincts to get the ball in the net from a tight angle. However, his contribution runs deeper than just the goal today. From a midfield, which hardly played a role, Khan dropped deep to make 2 clearances, 2 interceptions and a block. The manager used him till the very last ounce of breath left in him, before Damir Grgic replaced him at the dying minutes of the game.