Odisha ready for first ‘home’ game

It should make for a spectacle as Odisha finally makes its first appearance in its home city. Josep Gombau’s side has had to play its previous home games in Pune due to the unavailability of the Kalinga Stadium. The Spanish coach would be hoping that a change of setting will turn its fortunes around and give it an impetus in its push for a play-off spot.

Odisha, which has nine points from as many matches, has just one win in its last six games and is coming off a demoralising 0-3 defeat against FC Goa. “Yes, there is a chance (of reaching the play-offs). We are excited to finally play at home. We now have three crucial games coming up,” said Gombau.

Odisha’s opponent, Jamshedpur, is also in a rut. It is winless in its last four fixtures and is placed fourth on the table (13 points) only because of a strong start to its campaign. However, a win on Friday will see it go level on points with third-placed Bengaluru FC. OFC has been inconsistent in front of goal.

It has drawn blanks in four out of its nine contests and the attack, led by Aridane Santana, needs to start converting chances if the side is to push for a top-four spot. The likes of Xisco Hernandez, Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Nandakumar Sekar have looked good but have failed to show consistency.

Odisha has scored joint second-lowest goals from set-pieces (2) and has conceded joint-highest goals from them (6). Clearly, that is an area that Jamshedpur will look to utilise. But JFC has its own worries, especially in defence. It has struggled to keep hold of leads, winning only one out of three games where it was ahead at half-time.

Moreover, seven out of the 11 goals conceded by Jamshedpur this season have come in the second half, something which Tiri and team will be looking to improve upon. Interestingly, Odisha has conceded more goals (10) in the final period than Jamshedpur. JFC has also failed to keep a clean sheet in its last four matches.

“In our style, we don’t care about defence or attack. We make a balance. We know the numbers but it is not a big deal for us. We will try to score more goals than the last few games but we don’t care too much in defence,” said a bullish Iriondo. Striker Sergio Castel is still doubtful while Noe Acosta remains on the sidelines. Coach Iriondo will miss the services of midfielder Piti as well.