ISL 2019-20: Schembri credits Chennaiyin FC form to Owen Coyle and his staff
Andre Schembri netted a goal and also provided the assist for the opener on Thursday evening as Chennaiyin FC went on to beat Jamshedpur FC 4-1 in the Indian Super League.
This was Chennaiyin's third consecutive win in the league.
Schembri's goal from a corner in the 43rd minute of the game gave Chennaiyin FC control of the match. Earlier in the 13th minute, he had put his fellow frontman Nerijus Valskis through on goal with a beautiful through ball.
"Very happy to score and more importantly get the three points for the team", said the Maltese forward after the game.
Schembri had been getting on the end of numerous chances in Chennaiyin FC's two most recent games including two identical headed chances against NorthEast United previously and Jamshedpur today. But this time he took his chance to put the ball past goalkeeper Subrata Paul.
"You know usually I play centre forward and save my energy for when I'm in the box. But here I'm playing on the wing and I have to do a lot of up-and-down running, also defensive tracking. So when I'm in the box, I'm out of breath sometimes", joked Schembri.
"But yes, I knew that I was getting lot of chances and it was good to finally get one to go."
Chennaiyin FC's turnaround in form has been huge and he credited it to the arrival of Owen Coyle as new coach after the mid-season departure of John Gregory.
"I think the best transfer for the club was the new coach", he said. "You can see the results since then and the football. I think everybody is playing well and enjoying the football. Also I think we are now playing the same team regularly. In the beginning that was not the case, there were players being changed and we were getting used to each other."
Nerijus Valskis bagged a brace, both goals expertly taken after being put through on goal, once by Schembri and once by Thapa. The Lithuanian is now top of the goal-scoring charts with 10 goals to his name, one ahead of both Aridane Santana and Sunil Chhetri.
"Yes I'm very happy with the goals and also more importantly we won. I think I got some great balls today from my teammates for the goals", said Valskis.
He felt Jamshedpur's 4-4-2 approach enabled his side to create space in midfield which in turn created more chances upfront. He was also happy with the rest of the team also playing well complimenting the new Edwin-Thapa partnership in midfield and also their new right-back.
"Oh yes! They're providing great energy, it's a tough job to play in midfield", said Valskis about the Edwin-Thapa pairing. "They were always there putting pressure on the ball, releasing the ball quickly in attack. Dinliana is doing well and the whole defence is playing well. So it's a good thing for the team."