“We made mistakes but can’t have big decisions going against us every game” – Owen Coyle after FC Goa defeat

Chennai, December 26, 2019: Owen Coyle suffered his first defeat as Chennaiyin FC Head Coach when his side lost 3-4 to FC Goa in a rollercoaster encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday. Having gifted three goals in the first period to the visitors, CFC fought back to make it 2-3 by the hour mark, only for Goa to make it 2-4 few minutes later. Rafael Crivellaro completed his brace in the closing stages, but there wasn’t enough time for Chennaiyin to equalize.

In his post-match press gathering, Coyle accepted there was no margin for error against a team like Goa, especially with the mistakes his backline made.

“We gifted the first three goals (to FC Goa). The mistakes were not about getting the balance between defence and attack, the mistakes were individual mistakes. It was poor decision-making and putting ourselves under pressure.”

“Goa are a fantastic team. The one thing they don’t need are gifts. We’ve given them three Christmas gifts.”

Despite CFC’s inefficiencies at the back, the referee on the night Umesh Bora and his assistants did themselves no favours, showcasing extreme levels of inconsistency in officiating the game. Chennaiyin were denied three clear penalties during the course of the game, and while Edwin Vanspaul was sent off for two bookings, the referee turned a blind eye to contentious tackles from FC Goa including Edu Bedia’s blatant kick out on Crivellaro in the middle of the park.

“What was very evident for even me standing 50 yards away was we had two clear penalties denied to us in the first half. At 0-0, when Andre (Schembri) gets pushed in the box, it’s a clear penalty. Then at 1-0 down, when the skipper Lucian (Goian) is chopped from behind (it’s a penalty).” 

“Going 0-3 down is self-inflicted obviously. But we must also get those big decisions (right). For the last three matches, in my tenure at least, Chennaiyin have suffered. We suffered in Jamshedpur when the boy (Farukh Choudhury) punched the ball into the net. We suffered at home to Kerala (Blasters) even though we went on to win the game. You can’t have big decisions being given against you every single game.” 

“Even in the end, Edu Bedia kicks Rafa (Rafael Crivellaro) when he’s on the ground. And he’s allowed to play on. Next minute I have a player (Edwin Vanspaul) sent off. Some of the stuff that went on was bizarre,” Coyle lamented while having his say on the atrocious refereeing performances.

Coyle however had huge praise for the fight his team showed in the second period, in a bid to come back from the three-goal deficit. “What we’ve shown in the second half, the football we’ve played, the quality against a very good side was great. Second half we were far better than Goa. We still kept going. I would’ve loved ten more minutes, 11 v 11. We were creating chances; we were showing our quality.” 

With nine more games left to go in the ISL’s league stages, Coyle is far from giving up on his side’s chances of qualifying for the play-offs. “We’ll pick ourselves up again. There have been shortfalls and deficiencies, but we have shown we can recover quickly.”

“We have to eradicate unforced errors. We are a team that can be pleasing to the eye, with gifted players. We must find that balance between defence and offence. Eli (Sabia) coming back again will be a big boost. We know we can score goals; we can win games. We have to look to win points and charge up the league,” he said in conclusion.

Chennaiyin FC are back in action in the new year, as they travel to Odisha FC on Monday January 6, 2020.