"We spoke about not letting that happen" - Chennaiyin FC defender Ajith Kumar motivated to correct errors from Mumbai City loss against Jamshedpur FC | ISL 2022-23

Chennaiyin FC full-back Ajith Kumar has stated that the team is focused on making amends for their mistakes in their upcoming ISL 2022-23 match against Jamshedpur FC.

The Marina Machans will take on the Red Miners at the 'Marina Arena' on Saturday, November 19. Thomas Brdaric's side will enter the contest on the back of a harrowing 6-2 defeat at home against Mumbai City FC in a game where they initially led 2-0.

Speaking at Chennaiyin's pre-match press prior to their clash with Jamshedpur, Ajith said the players took ownership of their errors against the Islanders. He added that they spoke about avoiding those mistakes going forward and said in response to a query from Sportskeeda:

"We're the ones who were on the pitch, so the defeat was our mistake. The first 30 minutes, we executed what we had to. But after their first goal, we didn't hold the ball, we lost it easily. It was frustrating for everyone because they're a possession-dominating team. If we give them the ball easily, they'll get an advantage.

"We spoke about not letting that happen, executing what we want to and avoiding the kind of mistakes we made going forward. ... We were disappointed, but now the focus is on the next target."

Chennaiyin are notably yet to win a game at home this season. Brdaric's side have drawn once and lost twice after returning to the 'Marina Arena' for the first time since the 2019-20 ISL season. They have had periods of dominance in those games, but haven't been able to sustain that for 90 minutes.

When asked if the team felt the pressure of playing in front of their home crowd again, Ajith responded that that wasn't the case. He added:

"There's no pressure playing at home. Last match was difficult for us to swallow. We also dominated the 1-1 draw against Bengaluru and the match against Goa, but the result didn't go out way. Home-away gives us an upper hand at home, but we haven't been able to get the results."

The full-back believes they have a good chance of turning things around against Jamshedpur on Saturday.

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Not the end of the world: Chennaiyin FC coach Thomas Brdaric confident of team's ability to bounce back

Following the defeat against Mumbai City FC, Chennaiyin FC head coach Thomas Brdaric lamented his team's "simply foolish mistakes."

Speaking ahead of the game against Jamshedpur FC, the German tactician revealed that the team has analyzed and worked on removing those errors. He said:

"The last match was pretty tough to analyze because in the first 30 minutes, what we wanted to implement went very well. After that, we conceded the first goal very quickly and there was a lack of organization in the back.

"We have analyzed it and we know where the issues are and these are the most important things we speak about. We have good communication, we tell the players about technical mistakes, passing without pressure."

Brdaric went on to emphasize that the defeat will not derail their young season, but pointed out that it was important for them to bounce back:

"It was one game and it's not the end of the year or the world. Every team has these situations and we should learn from them.

"We are aware about the importance of tomorrow's match. [We want] to create a good atmosphere within the team and what we need to implement at the right moment."

When asked about his thoughts on Jamshedpur, who were the 2021-22 ISL League Shield winners, the Chennaiyin boss replied:

"Jamshedpur are champions, but the team changed tremendously in the last transfer window. They are struggling a little bit, but they will also want to recover from their first [few] matches."

Brdaric also stated that Kwame Karikari, who has not featured for the Marina Machans since their 1-1 draw with Bengaluru FC, could play a part off the bench on Saturday. His participation will depend on how he feels after Chennaiyin's final training session on Friday (November 18).