Jamil acknowledges 'lack of team spirit' after defeat to Hyderabad FC

Jamshedpur FC head coach Khalid Jamil voiced his frustration with losing all three points against Hyderabad FC as the Men of Steel suffered a 2-3 defeat in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. Muhammed Rafi opened the scoring in the 12th minute with his easy tap-in to convert Manoj Mohammed's grounder lay-off. The Men of Steel displayed a quick response as they scored twice within four minutes courtesy of Javi Hernandez's brace from the spot.

However, Shameel Chembakath's men displayed a spirited comeback in the second half, snapping their 20-game winless run at home. Joseph Sunny's precise finish from the edge of the box and Andrei Alba's fantastic long ranger sealed all three points for the Yellow and Black for the third time in the ongoing 2024-25 season.

Jamshedpur FC, who were coming off a four-match unbeaten run, succumbed to a stunning defeat away from home despite having the 2-1 lead in their favour. With that, the Men of Steel dropped points for the first time from a winning situation in the league this season.

Jamil acknowledged the challenges posed by the Hyderabad FC side and believed the hosts deservingly got all three points. However, he shared his displeasure with his players' performance and urged them to rectify those mistakes to bring the momentum back on their side.

"Disappointing result. It is not good. They deserve to win. We didn't play that much because I think team spirit was not there, which has been our plus point. So, there were many mistakes. We need to rectify the mistakes and bounce back again" Jamil said in the post-match press conference as quoted by the ISL official website.

Jamil believed that getting a victory against Hyderabad FC was an achievable objective for Jamshedpur FC players given their recent performance and spirited fightback in previous games. The Indian head coach addressed a couple of mistakes following the away defeat and urged his players to do the necessary to return to winning ways.

"No, I have to go there and rectify. Some problem is there. I think it was not an easy game, but we could've got the three points because, in the previous games, whatever we played, it was (about) spirit," he opined. "Everybody has been playing as a team, and that is a plus point. But this game was not the same. Some individual problems are there, and we have to solve them," he continued.

Despite this defeat dealing a daunting blow to Jamshedpur FC's League Shield hopes, Jamil wanted to stay optimistic and urge his players to cut down on such errors to stage a comeback in the forthcoming match against Punjab FC in New Delhi.

"Yeah, definitely, because everything was going good (until now), and only this game spoiled everything," he remarked. "So, we have to bounce back again, but still we have a long way to go. We must think about the next game," Jamil signed off. (ANI)