Football
'We lost two points more than we won one': Sergio Lobera
Odisha FC coach Sergio Lobera is not satisfied with the performance of his team as they missed several chances during 2-2 draw against KBFC.
Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera is not happy with the outcome of his team Odisha FC's Indian Super League (ISL) home clash against Kerala Blasters on Thursday as the Kalinga Warriors missed out on a chance to secure their second consecutive win.
Kerala Blasters took an early lead in the 18th minute through a goal by Noah Sadaouif. They doubled their lead in no time, with Jesus Jimenez hitting the net in the 21st minute.
Odisha FC gave one back in the 29th minute when KBFC's Alexandre Coeff scored an own goal.
Diego Mauricio brought Odisha FC back in the game by finding the equaliser in the 36th minutes.
As the thrilling game ended in a stalemate, Lobera during the post match press conference said, "For me today there were four halves. In the first one, we conceded a lot of chances to the opponent team and conceded the goals. The reaction of the team in the (second half of the) first half was dominating the game, scoring two goals, and having opportunities to score one more."
"My feeling is we lost two points more than we won one. We were playing at home, generating clear chances. It is true that they (KBFC) also had some chances. But today we lost two points,” he stated.
With the scoreline remain unchanged, this marks the fifth time Odisha FC have managed to draw or win a game after conceding a deficit of two or more goals in the league.
Lobera intersected the game into several phases while sharing his overall assessment in the post-match press conference.
“In the first part of the second half, we lost control of the ball during some periods because we lost possession of the ball. The last part of the four halves for me is the second half of the second half. Each team tried to win (in this phase). They (KBFC) could've won; we could've won. There was no midfield; it was box-to-box. This is the analysis from my side in terms of the different phases of the game,” the head coach explained.
When asked about their comeback in the game, Lobera said, “I think the comeback and the reaction of the team were very good after conceding the goals. But we need to put the focus on avoiding these situations. We conceded clear chances to the opponent during some periods of the game. We need to improve our mistakes.”
Odisha FC remain winless at home
After registering their first win of the season victory against Jamshedpur FC, the Kalinga Warriors could not to capitalise on their home advantage, missing out on another win in their third home match of the ongoing 2024-25 season.
In the second half, Hugo Boumous, Roy Krishna, Rahim Ali, and others generated several goal-scoring opportunities, but a lack of precision in the final third cost them crucial points against the Blasters.
Reflecting on the missed chances, Lobera said, “It is difficult to have a lot of chances against the opponent teams. When you have these opportunities, you need to kill the game. We need to be more clinical in the last step. We are the team that plays very open when we have the ball in possession. But we are suffering in transitions.”
“When we are losing the ball, the opponent team is finding a lot of space, especially in the first part of the game when we conceded two goals. In these transitions, we need to improve because, finally, we need to be compact and solid. Last season, we got lots of clean sheets. Until now, we don’t have any clean sheets. For us, the best way is to have possession of the ball,” Lobera signed off.