Owen Coyle delighted with Alex Lima’s sensational performance against Hyderabad in absence of Greg Stewart

Jamshedpur FC under the tutelage of Owen Coyle created history as they confirmed their first-ever semifinal berth by beating Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League. Goals from Daniel Chima Chukwu, Peter Hartley and an own goal from Chinglensana Singh meant that there was no coming back for the Nizams, who were massively shorthanded due to COVID-19 breakout in their camp.

It was Alex Lima, who ran the show against Hyderabad FC in Greg Stewart’s absence. He came up with two assists on the night and worked very hard in the middle by dropping deep and helping out in the buildup.

Speaking about his Brazilian talisman in midfield, Owen Coyle was delighted. He said, “Alex is an outstanding player and I don’t think he needed to step in his (Greg’s) shoes. He was compromised a lot in the previous games because we were playing Eli and the Skipper together. Alex ran the show and he was the best player on the pitch. I’m delighted for him because he worked with me at Houston Dynamo and I know his qualities. He is a true team player.”

The only blot on this brilliant performance was Mobashir Rahman’s red card where he was tangled in a challenge with Akash Mishra and tried to get out it as the referee saw a deliberate kick from the youngster and flashed the red card. Owen Coyle did not see the replay while speaking as he claiming Mobashir to be a youngster who will only learn and get better.

“Mobashir is a young player, he is terrific and will only get better. I need to see it back, he kicked Akash which he shouldn’t and was wrong. But he is young and he is not much experienced (to know) it harms when emotions come out on the pitch. I will have a word with him and he’ll learn from it,”Coyle said on the incident.

The Scotsman has cleared the air by making it obvious that the Men of Steel have set their sights for the ISL Shield. it is surprising to imagine how a season ago Coyle’s Jamshedpur FC missed the playoffs by four points and now they are aiming to finish at the top and win the Shield.

“Well, that’s the target now. The first target was to get into the playoffs. When I took over the club had five points in the last ten games the previous season, it shows how much work was needed to be done. But now we are into it (semi-finals) and will continue to win points to finish at the prized position,” Coyle concluded.