Chennaiyin FC will play Mumbai City FC in an early kickoff at the Marina Arena as the league prepares for an incredible 1000th match. Chennaiyin FC will be seeking to halt their winless streak against Mumbai in all competitions by winning back-to-back games for the first time this season. Owen Coyle spoke to the media before the game about a number of subjects, which included Irfan’s call-up to the national squad and the need for VAR in the ISL.
Injury Updates
Owen Coyle gave important updates on the fitness of a few players prior to the game. Vincy Barretto is back in full training and ready for selection after being substituted out early owing to an injury sustained during the previous game. Farukh, who was injured and missed the previous game, is also back in training and should be eligible for selection. Kiyan Nassiri had a minor knock in the previous game but is expected to be ready for the game against Mumbai.
“That counts for nothing when the game starts”, Coyle on Chennaiyin’s recent record against Mumbai City
In recent years, Chennaiyin FC’s head-to-head record versus Mumbai City has been terrible. They are winless against the Islanders in the last five years, meaning they have not defeated them in their last eleven games across all competitions. The last time the Marina Machans triumphed over Mumbai was during Owen Coyle’s debut season in India when Chennaiyin won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lucian Goian. Owen Coyle addressed this run of form by saying that it signifies nothing and that tomorrow’s events at the Marina Arena are what count. Additionally, he shared his opinions on the opposition’s caliber and Mumbai’s recent performances.
“See, this is the thing that people will always ask questions. Is this a good time to play someone? Is it not a good time to play someone? Why you’ve not beaten this team for so many years or you’ve had a great record against this team? That counts for nothing when the game starts. It’s two teams, two very good teams going all out to win a tough game.”
“We just have to perform consistently and if we do well, we’ve shown and I’ve got to say tomorrow night, we need to be our best because Mumbai is a very very good side. They’re a champion team for a reason. They’re coming back into form as they’ve been showing. So we need to be at our best. But if we’re at our best tomorrow, it’s again for sure that we can win and that’s how we’ll approach it.”
“Irfan’s the one that deserves all the credit”, Coyle on Irfan’s national team call-up
Many Chennaiyin fans wanted Irfan Yadwad to be removed from the starting lineup after the striker squandered many chances throughout the game. Everyone assumed Irfan would be benched when Coyle hinted at potential changes following the defeat to Punjab. However, Coyle stuck with Irfan, and it paid off as Irfan scored a goal and provided two assists in Chennaiyin’s 5-1 victory over Jamshedpur FC. Irfan was included in the 26-man probables for India’s forthcoming friendly match against Malaysia a day later. Speaking on Irfan’s efforts, Owen Coyle expressed his happiness at seeing young Chennaiyin players called up to the national squad.
“Irfan Yadwad finds those positions all the time. That’s why I’ve persevered. That’s why I’ve kept with him because I believe in him. I trust in him and it was great for me to get the goal. It was great for him. It didn’t matter to me because I knew what the boy was doing. I know how well he’s doing for me. And that’s the thing as a coach. That’s what I say, you’ve got to trust the coaches that they know what they’re doing and if they’re not, then we’ll certainly soon find out about it.”, added Coyle on Irfan’s performances.
“Yeah, well I’m delighted Irfan’s been called up. Obviously, Kiyan had started the first one (camp ahead of the Tri-Nation tournament) in the pre-season and then Farukh stepped back in. He’s already been and he had a horrendous injury and he started to find his form again which is great and scored the goal which was where I’m so pleased for him. Hnamte did well as well because I spoke to Manolo about it. It tells us they’re doing well for Chennaiyin. Because they’re doing well for us, then it elevates them to the thinking of the national team.”
“So that tells us we’re taking nice steps in the right direction, that there’s a long way to go. But for those boys and those younger ones, what it shows is that we’ll give them opportunity and when we do, it’s up to them. when the boys crossed that white line onto the field, those are the ones that deliver. Those are the ones. Irfan’s the one that deserves all the credit.”, commented Owen Coyle on Chennaiyin players making the national squad.
“If you switch off defensively, they’re going to punish you”, Coyle about defensive woes
This season, Chennaiyin FC has only ensured one clean sheet, against Hyderabad FC, despite gaining 11 points from seven games and scoring 15 goals in the run. Additionally, in four of the seven games, they have given up two goals or more. Soft goals—either from the opposition’s fast counterattacks or the team’s own defensive errors—have accounted for a large portion of conceded goals. Owen Coyle addressed the defensive issues by saying that the league’s top strikers will punish the defenders if they don’t maintain the focus throughout the match.
“I do accept that there’s been some what I would call soft goals. So I think the key to that is focus and concentration. It’s so important defensively that you’re focused and you’re playing every moment of the match. That’s why when the game finishes, the players should be not only physically but mentally exhausted because they’ve poured their heart and their mind into every game. That’s the only way you can achieve success.”
“These top foreigners are scoring a lot of goals for a reason. And if you switch off defensively, they’re going to punish you. Sadiku is going to punish you. Noah’s going to punish you. Alaeddine as well, all these, top players, Jordan, Daniel Chima, these boys know how to score. So that’s why from a defensive point of view, you have to be so alive, so tuned in. So it’s a focus, it’s a concentration and I think we did that a lot better the other night.”
“I do think a big addition that we need is VAR“, Owen Coyle on what ISL needs to improve
Owen Coyle talked about the ISL’s development and all the things that can be introduced to the league to raise its standard as it is approaching its 1000th league match featuring Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC at the Marina Arena. He called for the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to help referees make better decisions.
“I do think a big addition that we need is VAR for a number of reasons, one to help the referees and two, to get things right. They call the KMIs, key match incidents, there’ll always be little fouls in the halfway line. Ultimately those that happen, you get it, you don’t get it. But the big incidents, you know, the penalties, the offsides, the goals, our goals, those are the things we need to get right. So for me, I’m all for VAR.”
“It might take an extra minute to get, you know, the decision, but I think that would give a far higher percentage in terms of correct decisions because what you don’t want to feel is that feeling that you’ve played really well in a game but you’ve lost because of a decision that. So I think that’s one thing we could get better at.”
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