Odisha’s play-off fate in Goa’s hands post loss

BHUBANESWAR: Jamshedpur FC finished its Indian Super League season on a high and dealt a potentially fatal blow to Odisha FC’s play-off ambitions with a 2-0 win at the Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday.

Second-half goals from Harry Sawyer and Ritwik Das handed Jamshedpur its third victory in four games and kept FC Goa alive in the play-off pursuit. Odisha came into the match needing just a point to seal top-six qualification, but will now have to count on Goa to not win against Bengaluru FC on Thursday.

On Wednesday, approaching the half-hour mark, Sawyer had a couple of opportunities that came his way, but neither was turned into a goal. At the other end of the pitch, Diego Mauricio cut in from the left flank and glided past three players before shooting straight at the goalkeeper and registering the host’s first effort on target in the 34th minute.

Five minutes from the break, Jay Emmanuel Thomas used his quick feet to get a strike at goal from inside the box, but Amrinder Singh stood his ground and blocked the shot.

Odisha’s play-off hopes were left hanging in the balance just past the hour-mark when it conceded two goals in quick succession. A defensive error from Narender Gahlot allowed the visitor to link up for a goal that was headed in by Sawyer. Seconds later, on a quick break, Ritwik slotted the second goal past Amrinder.

In the 70th minute, Ritwik outmuscled Shubham Sarangi and tried to lob the ball over the keeper, but Amrinder tracked back and managed to palm it over the bar. Approaching the 80th minute, Mauricio got past a couple of defenders and went for goal from a tight angle. The striker’s shot was blocked for a corner, which resulted in nothing.

Moments later, the same move was replicated and, once again, Odisha could not find a way past the staunch Jamshedpur defence.

RESULT: Odisha FC 0 lost to Jamshedpur FC 2 (H Sawyer 61, Ritwik 63)