High-flying Odisha FC blew Jamshedpur away by 4-1 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Friday, December 29. A brace from Roy Krishna and goals from Diego Mauricio and Isak Ralte extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games.
With the games coming in thick and fast, Odisha FC were keen to pick up another win and emerge as contenders for the league winners' shield. A win for Jamshedpur would've seen them leapfrog as many as three teams and go from 10th to seventh in the points table.
Scott Cooper's Red Miners were coming off an impressive 5-0 victory over Hyderabad FC as well.
Sergio Lobera's side meant business right from the get-go. In the sixth minute, Ahmed Jahouh swung in a set piece into the box, which was met by a Carlos Delgado header.
The ball ricocheted and fell to Roy Krishna who slotted it into the back of the net. However, the referee blew the whistle for a debatable foul by Krishna as he may have struck the goalkeeper while raising his boot to shoot.
Odisha FC repeated the same routine three minutes later. Jahouh's freekick and Delgado's header. This time, the ball struck the crossbar and fell to Diego Mauricio on the rebound. His shot, however, was blocked.
Jahouh's corner in the 11th minute was headed by Puitea and saved well by TP Rehenesh. Five minutes later, Nikhil Barla found himself in a great position to score after the ball fell to him in the box. However, he skied his effort.
Jamshedpur FC took a shock lead in the 23rd minute through Rei Tachikawa. A cross-field pass played from the left was poorly brought down by Jerry Lalrinzuala, falling perfectly for Rei. The Japanese midfielder beautifully rifled the ball into the far bottom corner.
After winning back the ball in the 26th minute, Jahouh touched it down for Puitea, who released Krishna with perfectly timed pass. Krishna chased the ball, looked up, and crossed it perfectly between the goalkeeper and the defenders for Isak Ralte, who converted with ease to restore parity.
Mohammed Sanan had the ball in the back of the net in the 33rd minute but the referee disallowed it. The youngster was in an offside position when he pushed the ball into the net, after a Jamshedpur corner.
Diego Mauricio forced his way into the box from the right wing in the 36th minute and crossed it in. TP Rehenesh failed to parry it away and the ball fell perfectly to Roy Krishna in front of the goal, who coolly tapped it into the bottom corner.
Rehenesh made an even bigger mistake in the 44th minute as he hacked Diego Mauricio down in the box after the Brazilian pickpocketed him and touched away the ball.
The 32-year-old took up the scoring responsibility and hammered in the penalty. The ball was well within reach for Rehenesh but there was too much force behind the shot.
Roy Krishna further increased Jamshedpur's misfortunes with his seventh goal of the ISL season in the third minute of additional time. Ralte played him into the box and the Fijian drilled it towards the bottom corner.
A deflection could not prevent the ball from nestling into the net. The teams went into the break with a 4-1 scoreline to the Juggernauts.
Missed chances in second half don't affect Odisha FC and Jamshedpur FC's final tally
The Red Miners began the second half with flair, led by Nongdamba Naorem who set up Daniel Chima Chukwu beautifully in the 48th minute. The Nigerian did well to turn and face the keeper but his dink unfortunately bounced back off the crossbar.
Odisha soon returned to the play with Jahouh setting up Krishna with a delectable pass in the 52nd minute. The Fijian took a strike at goal only to be thwarted by TP Rehenesh.
Jahouh's misplaced pass in the 64th minute fell to Chima who set up Len Doungel in the box. However, his poor first touch took the ball away from him and his shot crashed into the side netting.
Len Doungel put in a strong header in the 82nd minute but it went straight into Amrinder Singh's hands, who did well to collect it firmly. The goalkeeper produced an even better save in the 88th minute after Nikhil Barla delivered a flying header from a pin-point cross by Jeremy Manzorro.
The win catapulted the Juggernauts to the second spot on the table, just two points behind FC Goa who are slated to play later on in the evening. Jamshedpur, on the other hand, finished their 2023 rooted to the 10th position.