New Delhi: The Jamshedpur Football Club (JFC) won by a fraction as they beat the SC East Bengal team by 1-0 in the Indian Super League held at the GMC Athletic Stadium, Goa, on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
The match began with both teams trying to retain possession of the ball. While JFC adopted an attacking strategy, SC resorted to defence. There were constant attacks and counter-attacks from both ends.
JFC goalkeeper Pawan Kumar stepped out of the box to prevent a goal by SC in the 27th minute. He collected the ball from the left flank and cleared the lines.
No team made enough scoring chances in the first half. Though JFC’s Boris Singh could score in the last few minutes, his header went above the crossbar.
The second half began with JFC’s Jordan Murray hitting the crossbar as SC’s Amarjit Kiyam was injured in the 51st minute. Darren Sidoel substituted Adil Khan in team SC, and Ishan Pandita substituted Seiminlen Doungel of Jamshedpur in the 58th minute.
More substitutions happen as Balwant Singh replaced Naorem Singh of SC in the 65th minute and JFC’s Alexandre Lima and Narender Gahlot replace Peter Hartley and Mobashir Rahman in the 71st minute.
Jamshedpur FC became visually frustrated at the 84th minute since opponents constantly thwarted their scoring chances.
However, JFC’s Greg Stewart made a precise corner in the final moments as Ishan Pandita jumped in to smash a header from afar. The ball hit the far post in the 89th minute and gave Jamshedpur a lead. The match ended with Jamshedpur winning against SC East Bengal with scores 1-0.
Pandita’s last-minute goal proved fruitful as Jamshedpur climbed to No.1 on the league table. Meanwhile, SC East Bengal continues to rank last (No.11).
Jamshedpur FC will next face Hyderabad FC on Monday, whereas SC East Bengal will clash against FC Goa at the Athletic Stadium on Wednesday.
(Avya Mathur)