Chennaiyin will learn from its mistakes, says Coyle

A stunning second half display, which included a brace from midfielder Rafael Crivellaro and a strike from Andre Schembri, wasn’t enough to stop the Gaurs from collecting all three points. As his side showed a lot of heart in the final 45 minutes, CFC head coach Owen Coyle felt it didn’t deserve to go down in the close contest on Boxing Day.

“We gifted the first three goals. Goa has brilliant attacking players and you can’t afford to give it gifts. We gave the away side Christmas gifts,” said Coyle referring to first half goals from the Goan trio of Ahmed Jahouh, Brandon Fernandes and Hugo Boumous.

All four goals which Chennaiyin conceded were down to individual errors, something which Coyle wants to put a full stop to. “We will analyse the match and learn from our mistakes. If we keep continuing to make them, we will let in more goals. But, it’s about encouraging the boys in situations like these. Only then, they will get better,” he stated.

After a four-game unbeaten run (two wins and two draws), CFC suffered its first defeat under Coyle’s tutelage. However, the Scotland-born Irishman lauded his boys for putting on a show against the “best team in the league”, which was unusually not at its menacing best on the matchday.  “Although some of my boys made errors, they kept fighting. We went toe-to-toe with Goa. We could have had two penalties in the first period. But, we showed in the second half that we are a very good side. Our players displayed a lot of quality and there is encouragement in that aspect,” added the 53-year-old.

Following its fourth loss of the season, the two-time title-winner has nine points from as many fixtures. Despite sitting in the bottom half of the standings midway through the competition, the gaffer remarked Chennaiyin is not a million miles away from a top-four spot. “We are playing catch-up, but I know we can win games with these players. We just have to pick ourselves up and surge up the table.”