Chennaiyin FC’s season went from bad to worse with a humbling 3-0 loss at home against Northeast United FC. For the first time since ISL 2020–21, the Highlanders have officially earned a spot in the playoffs. Following the tough loss, Owen Coyle, the losing coach, emphasized two areas for development for the upcoming season.
Owen Coyle on the loss:
Northeast United were on the front foot from the start, frequently posing a threat to the Chennaiyin defense with their rapid transitions. Nestor scored the opening goal, followed by Jithin’s second and Alaeddine’s third in the first half. Owen Coyle discussed the defeat and the way the goals were given up.
“The softness of the goals. That’s nothing that surprises me in the game, with respect to what the players have been showing, what to expect from the opposition, what Ajaraie can do, and what Nestor can do. And that’s the frustration, to give up such soft goals. At the other end, the chances we create are incredible, not just half-chances. I don’t expect that you will score every one of those, but you should be taking a far higher percentage than we took, with two or three wonderful chances in the first half.”
“At half-time, we made several changes, obviously, by that time, people felt the horse had bolted. But we were very good in the second half with respect to control of the game. I think we had one opportunity. But after that, I think we were down to 10 men. It’s disappointing. It’s frustrating for everybody, for the fans in particular, because those are the ones that my thoughts are with.”
Owen Coyle on poor defense:
Chennaiyin FC has been incredibly bad defensively, letting up soft goals after soft goals in every game since the first one till this one. All three of today’s goals were the result of quick transition movements and weak defending by the hosts. Even with seven defensive reinforcements, the defense has gotten weaker than it was the previous season. Going into next season, Owen Coyle emphasized that they might need to make some changes to their backline if they want to improve.
“With all due respect, you can’t go and defend like that again, for another season, you’ve got aspirations, as we have. The main thing was play-offs for the fans to get them excited at the end of a season. And it was nowhere good enough. And listen, there’s been suspension behind you, there’s been a lack of continuity. But ultimately, the ones that have played, there’s been big mistakes between what we do.”
“But ultimately, I’m the head coach, so it’s not about that player or this player. We have to identify, is there something we can change, do we need to change this or that? And that’s something we’re actively looking at. So, I think that’s fair to comment, that we certainly haven’t defended well enough this season, for sure.”
Owen Coyle on lack of goal scorers:
Every team that is doing well at the top of the table has Indian goal scorers who often pop up with goals in moments where the foreign strikers fail to step up. But that hasn’t been the case for Chennaiyin FC. Only Irfan Yadwad looked dangerous in the attack and no other winger has scored them goals (except Farukh in the first game). Owen Coyle spoke about the need of variety of players up front and the need for Indian players to step up and score goals.
“I think we need a variety of more goal-scorers, for sure. I think even at set-plays, I think we put some wonderful deliveries in, and I think we should be getting a better return from our set-plays as we normally do. I mean, all our teams have always had good returns at set-plays, and I don’t think we’ve had that this year, given the quality the ball came in. So, whether, again, that’s changing, mixing things up, that’s to be seen. So, yes, it’s certainly something, there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be looked at, for sure.”
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