ISL 2023-24: “Was proud of my players in the second half”, says Scott Cooper after loss against Odisha FC

Jamshedpur FC former head coach Scott Cooper feels his players need to sharpen their finishing skills after their 4-1 loss against Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Rei Tachikawa gave a 1-0 lead to the visitors in the 23rd minute but they conceded on four occasions in the next 22 minutes to fall behind.

Roy Krishna scored a brace for the Kalinga Warriors whereas Vanlalruatfela and Diego Mauricio also found the back of the net to give a thumping win to Sergio Lobera’s team.

“We made a good start, leading 1-0,” Cooper stated in the post-match press conference.

“I think we cancelled out the number ten of Odisha FC (Ahmed Jahouh) like we planned to do. Everything was going smoothly—a good goal. And then we had a 20-minute spell of madness—that loss of concentration. Some players made mistakes that they don’t normally make, and you have to give Odisha FC credit. They give us a lesson in capitalisation, capitalising on things that are presented to them because they didn’t make anything,” he added.

Cooper admitted they were sloppy as they gifted goals to the opposition. But he was glad with the team’s performance in the second half of the game.

“Goals are scored in three ways. Either you score them or somebody gives you, or from set pieces, and we gave goals away in a 20-minute spell,” he commented.

“I was proud of the players in the second half. They came out to show and try to do something. There are five or six very good chances that we couldn’t convert. So, we’d like to go back to ourselves again,” he continued.

Meanwhile, players like Mohammed Sanan K and Nikhil Barla, showed great fight in the absence of some of their key players like Steve Ambri, Alen Stevanovic, and Pronay Halder. Cooper said he is not going to criticize young players, as they don’t have enough experience.

“I’m not going to complain,” he said.

“How do you complain that a teenage striker, a teenage wingback, a left-wing back that’s never played there before, and a young grooming player in midfield? How’d you complain about them? You can’t. They got themselves into a winning position (in the second half),” he continued.

“They messed it up in a 20-minute spell. They responded for the second half in good fashion. I can’t go in and hammer them. We have to learn from our mistakes, and that’s simply what we’ll take from this game. That’s it.,” he signed off.

After this defeat, Jamshedpur FC and Scott Cooper have parted ways. Khalid Jamil has been appointed as the new head coach of the club.