Odisha v Jamshedpur Match Report, 27/12/2019, Indian Super League

Odisha FC edged Jamshedpur 2-1 to pick up their first win at the Kalinga Stadium on Friday.

Aridane Santana's first-half brace helped the hosts rally towards three points. Aitor Monroy scored a penalty for the visitors in the first half but struggled to make any further impact in the game.

Josep Gombau made four changes to the Odisha lineup. Francisco Dorronsoro, Gaurav Bora, Vinit Rai and Xisco Hernandez replaced Arshdeep Singh, Diawandou Diagne, Martin Guedes and Jerry Mawihmingthanga.

Jamshedpur FC starting XI had just two changes as Mobashir Rahman and Bikash Jairu replaced Piti and CK Vineeth.

After a scrappy start to the match, Odisha finally took control of the game and scored the opening goal in the 28th minute. Aridane Santana found the back of the net from Nandhakumar Sekar’s pass.

But Jamshedpur came back strongly in the game after conceding the opening goal. They continued to press hard in the attacking third and kept the pressure on the Odisha defence.

Their persistence paid off when Sumeet Passi was brought down inside the box by Narayan Das. Aitor Monroy converted the penalty to restore parity in the match.

At the stroke of half time, Santana scored his second with a world-class volley from Nandhakumar’s inch-perfect cross from the left flank to put the hosts in front again.

It was once again a disorganised start to the match in the second half as neither teams were able to keep the ball for a long time.

Gombau started to shut shop as the match entered the final quarter. He introduced Martin Guedes and Bikramjit Singh to the middle of the pitch to provide protection to the backline.

Jamshedpur FC created very few chances as they lacked firepower upfront. The all-Indian attack failed to make a mark throughout the match which hampered their chances of making a comeback in the match.

Odisha climbed to the sixth position on the league with the much-needed win while Jamshedpur remained fourth.