ISL: Jamshedpur FC suffer fifth straight defeat, what's wrong with them

Dimitrios Diamantakos scored the solitary goal of the match as Kerala Blasters registered a 1-0 win away against Jamshedpur FC in the ISL on Sunday.

With the win, the Manjappada move to 5th position in the ISL table. Jamshedpur suffered their 5th consecutive defeat and now languishing just above the bottom-placed Northeast United.

As it Happened:

Kerala started the match with more authority. Their passing, and overall mentality was much more clinical than the hosts. The away side took the lead in the 17th minute through Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos. From a set-piece situation, Adrian Luna crossed the ball which was then thumped in by the Greek striker from the centre of the box.

Kerala dominated the entire match and had the lion share of the possession. Jamshedpur tried to equalize and played in counter-attacks, but were not clinical in front of the goal. It was a scrappy affair in the end and despite making some changes, the Men of Steel couldn't find a way to restore parity. They created chances but most of their shots were wayward. Blasters, on the other hand, defended well to repel the threat from the home side. Ruivah Hormipam and Marko Leskovic at the Kerala defence shut the shop and put up a fantastic display to preserve their lead, and in the end, it was the visitors who came away with all the points.

Jamshedpur on a losing streak:

With the loss, Jamshedpur now have been without a point in the league since 30th October, when they won against bottom side Northeast. They have lost 5 matches in a row and it looks gloomy for them as they are about to face vibrant ATK Mohun Bagan up next.

90+5’| FULL-TIME.

A hard-fought game concludes in a slim defeat at the Furnace.#JamKeKhelo #JFCKBFC pic.twitter.com/JTn0OgMcaK

— Jamshedpur FC (@JamshedpurFC) December 4, 2022

Since their home win against Northeast, the Men of Steels have been awful in every department. They have failed to keep their defence intact, and have missed chances galore at the other end. Striker Daniel Chima Chukwu is without a goal in 5 matches. The cutting edge from the side is missing, and at the same time, they are leaking goals on the other side. All in all, these are concerning times for coach Adrian Bothroyd.

He seems lost to pick a settled lineup. Too many changes in games have broken their momentum and the players have lost confidence and self-belief big time. Only a positive result can turn things around for them, to come out of this losing habit. They have conceded 11 goals in the last five matches, and have managed to bulge the net only twice. A drastic change is needed at this time, otherwise, they will remain at the bottom of the pile.