Odisha FC 2-1 Jamshedpur FC: 3 Reasons Why the home side won the match | ISL 2019-20

Odisha FC grabbed all the three points in their first home game scheduled at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar as they pipped an injury hit Jamshedpur FC 2-1 in Friday's ISL 2019-20 match. The win takes them to the sixth spot at the ISL table with 12 points from 10 matches.

They made as many as four changes to the side that got thrashed by FC Goa 3-0. Arshdeep Singh made his way for Francisco Dorronsoro between the sticks and the likes of Vinit Rai and Xisco Hernandez made their way to the centre of the pitch leaving Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Martin Perez Guedes on the bench. Gaurav Bora got his first start of the game ahead of Diawandou Diagne.

Jamshedpur FC made two changes to the side that lost 1-2 to Mumbai City FC. Mobashir Rahman and Bikash Jairu started for the visitors as Piti and CK Vineeth found their names missing in the starting line-up.

Dissecting the game, here are three reasons why we think Odisha FC won the game.

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#3 Josep Gombau's plan to sit Martin Perez Guedes pays off

Aridane Santana scores past Subrata Pal

A couple of Odisha FC fans could have been surprised with the exclusion of the name of Martin Perez Guedes from the starting line-up. In the game against FC Goa, he was the only saving grace as he controlled Odisha's attacks in the midfield.

But, Josep Gombau took him off so that he can have an Indian defensive midfielder and free up Xisco. Aridane Santana has to drop down a lot when Xisco is not there in the pitch. But, with the latter making his presence felt, Aridane got a free role further upwards and wreaked havoc.

Sitting in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Aridane led the line as Nandhakumar and Daniel helped him from the wider areas of the pitch. The Jamshedpur FC players held their lines for the most part of the game but lost their shape on a couple of occasions.

#2 Jamshedpur FC still lacking a central striker

Jamshedpur FC’s Aitor Monroy scored from the penalty spot in the first half of their match against Odisha FC in ISL

Jamshedpur FC seems to be still struggling with Sergio Castel's injury as they are yet to find a suitable marksman. Antonio Iriondo deployed his team in a 4-3-3 formation but the efforts paid no dividends.

The trio of Bikash Jairu, Farukh Choudhary, and Sumeet Passi started the game by pressing the Odisha FC defenders high. It almost came to fruition as Francisco Dorronsoro was pressurized as early as the third minute of the game.

In the next minute, Isaac Vanmalsawma's cross hit the arm of Vinit Rai inside the box but the referee didn't award a penalty.

The region between Gaurav Bora and Shubham Sarangi was the most vulnerable one and Jamshedpur FC almost scored the opening goal of the contest in the 22nd minute of the game when Bikash Jairu's shot from close range hit the side-netting.

Jamshedpur FC also managed to win fouls off Gaurav Bora and Carlos Delgado with their high press and sent them both to the book early in the contest.

The visitors ultimately won a penalty for their continued efforts after Narayan Das handled the ball inside the box. Aitor Monroy stepped up and levelled the terms in a composed fashion.

But, with like every other team who press high and lose their steam in the second half, the same thing happened with Jamshedpur FC. In the dying minutes of the game, Piti was deployed as a central striker so that the team can pull one goal back. But, it didn't materialize.

Jamshedpur FC just needs to wait for Sergio Castel to recover to get their rhythm back.

#1 The duo of Nandhakumar Sekar and Aridane weaves magic

Odisha FC’s victory in Bhubaneswar saw them go up to 6th in the ISL table as Jamshedpur FC remained winless in their last five games

Nandhakumar Sekar had no assists or goal to his name prior to his match and he was constantly outshone by his compatriot on the other wing, Jerry Mawihmingthang. But, with the latter suffering from an injury, most of the attacks were diverted through the left-wing.

Nandhakumar Sekar created two chances and one of them resulted in an assist to Aridane Santana's second goal. Even in the build-up to the first goal, he fizzed past three markers before putting a loose ball. Aridane picked it up and slammed it past the rival goalkeeper.

He also fed a good number of through balls to Narayan Das on the overlap, but the cross from the latter was poor. Apart from scoring two goals, Aridane Santana also played an instrumental part while defending the set-pieces. His towering figure made it tough for the Jamshedpur FC players to get their crosses right.

In the dying moments of the game, Memo Moura latched on to a loose ball near the far post and headed it goalbound. As the goalkeeper committed himself earlier, the Jamshedpur FC defender had a shot at an empty goal. But, Aridane made a goal-line clearance to deny them the equalizer.

Nandhakumar Sekar and Aridane forged a good partnership and made most out of their limited opportunities. This is a good sign for Odisha FC's head coach Josep Gombau.