ISL: "Today's performance was way below our standard," says Jamshedpur Skipper Hartley

Jamshedpur FC shared points with SC East Bengal at the Tilak Maidan Stadium. The Men of Steel tried their best but could manage only a draw against the Red and Gold in their opening game of the Indian Super League 2021-22 season.

Jamshedpur was less than impressed with the two dropped points and their skipper, Peter Hartley, who scored the equalizer on Sunday night, also expressed similar feelings. In an exclusive interview with The Bridge, the Jamshedpur captain spoke about his team's performance, reaction to the draw, and the areas where they can improve.

Thoughts on the draw

Peter Hartley was very upset with the draw in the first game and when asked about his thoughts on the draw the skipper said "It is frustrating".The opening match of a campaign is always very crucial and Hartley believes that they could have had a better start.

"Today's performance was way below our standard as we had a very good time in the pre-season. It's disappointing to come away with a point, we felt we deserved more. Our opponent [East Bengal] might be happy with just point but we are not", he added.

Areas to improve ahead of FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC

The 33-year-old, who is currently playing his second season on Indian soil, admits there are several areas to improve. He also highlighted that they need to be more clinical in the opponent half.

On asked about the areas that are needed to be improved Hartley said, "I think the offensive third, winning more second balls, and we need to be more on the ball. We're a bit nervous in the opening minutes and that was reflected in our performance. Now, moving further to the season, we would like to build on the excellent work that we have done during the pre-season."

Preparation for the FC Goa game

The next fixture of Jamshedpur is only four days away when they take on FC Goa on Friday. Talking about the preparation and planning for that game, the English defender said that, "We need to bag all 3 points from the next game, and to level up our game we need to play in our own style. We just cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes as we did against East Bengal."

Expectations from the new season and what lies ahead

Jamshedpur dominated the majority of the game but had to settle only for a draw. Speaking about the expectations from the new season he said, "Our aim is always the same, to go compete and finish at the top half of the table. The last game was a minor hindrance, but that won't change our aim."