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Wingers Baoringdao Bodo and Laishram Premjit Singh join Odisha FC

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Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC have secured the services of widemen Baoringdao Bodo and Laishram Premjit Singh, the Bhubaneswar-based club confirmed on Thursday. Assam-born winger, Bodo has played in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) before and joins Odisha on a two-year contract, while Premjit has been roped in by the club on a four-year deal.

“I am very excited and can’t wait to start my journey with Odisha FC. I want to thank the management for showing faith in me. I feel privileged and great to be part of a system which supports and develops young players. I look forward to playing in front of the faithful Odia fans and give my best. Ama Team, Ama Game, Ama Odisha,” a delighted Bodo said after signing for the club.

Part of a select group of five All India Football Federation (AIFF) elite academy prospects who were sponsored on a developmental stint to FC Metz’s academy in France by Chennaiyin FC, Bodo has made four appearances in the Hero ISL so far.

He featured in two matches for the Marina Machans during their title-winning 2017-18 campaign and was the youngest player to feature in the league at the time. The pacey winger also made two appearances in the Hero ISL for Kerala Blasters FC after joining them in January 2019.

Premjit, on the other hand, has previously represented Manipur’s TRAU FC in the I-League and is looking forward to playing in the Hero ISL. “I am extremely delighted that Odisha FC showed interest in me and they are investing a lot in youngsters. I am looking forward to play for them in the ISL and I am sure that it will be a great opportunity for me to grow further in my professional career,” the 18-year-old said after putting pen to paper.

Odisha FC President Rohan Sharma extended his welcome to the young wingers and expects them to have a bright future. “I am quite happy to welcome both Premjit and Bodo to the club. Premjit is a player who has an extremely bright future and if he can play to his potential, he can be another winger in the same vein as Jerry for the squad. Though only 18, his speed is impressive. We hope to develop him further in the next four years for him to become another winger with blistering pace in our squad,” he said.

“Bodo needs less introduction as not too long ago, he was thought of to be one of the best young prospects in India. While Bodo still has oodles of potential, he has slipped through the cracks a little bit. We are confident that Odisha FC is the club for Bodo to come back strong and make an impact in India once again. I am certain that Bodo will work hard to get his names in the headlines once again,” Sharma added.

After confirming the signing of goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh a few days back as well as the acquisitions of fullback Geroge D’Souza and defensive duo Hendry Antonay and Saurabh Meher last week, Bodo and Premjit become Odisha’s latest incomings.

(Odisha FC Media)

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Indian Super League

Kerala, Odisha settle for a point as injuries take a toll

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Kochi, Kerala: Kerala Blasters FC remained without a win for the third consecutive match following a goalless draw against Odisha FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday.

The Hero Indian Super League contest was marred by injuries to key players from both teams as Jairo Rodriguez, Raphael Messi Bouli and Aridane Santana had to be substituted in the first half. The changes affected the pace of the game that ultimately ended without a winner.

Blasters and Odisha now have four points each from as many games and occupy the fifth and sixth position on the league table.

Kerala, who were already hampered by injuries this season, suffered a major blow in the fourth minute when captain Jairo Rodriguez went down injured. He was replaced by Abdul Hakku.

However, the home side continued to press high up the field to try and take the game to their opponents, but Odisha were well organized at the back.

A cautious period of play early on came to a halt when a head-on collision inside the box following a corner-kick left Aridane Santana and Messi Bouli requiring medical attention. Following a long pause, the game resumed with Mohammed Rafi and Carlos Delgado replacing the injured players.

With both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances, Sahal Abdul Samad took matters into his own hands as he embarked on a stellar solo run after picking up the ball from the right flank. The midfielder outfoxed three defenders before Narayan Das brought him down inside the box, but the referee rejected vociferous appeals for a penalty.

Blasters were the better side in the first half, although by fine margins. Mohammed Rafi’s drilled cross into the box from the right was met by Rahul KP whose audacious volley failed to test goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro.

The teams struggled to raise the tempo and keep hold of the ball after the break as well. Odisha threatened when Jerry Mawihmingthanga’s cross put TP Rehenesh in a spot of bother. The goalkeeper spilled the ball inside the box but Nandhakumar Sekar hit the rebound into the side-netting.

Prasanth Karuthadathkuni had the crowd up on their feet when he cut in from the right flank and pulled the trigger, only to send the speculative effort over the bar.

There were a couple more chances at either end as the game wound down, but a goal remained elusive.

With four minutes left, a Prasanth cross from the left was flicked towards the far post by second-half substitute Bartholomew Ogbeche for Rahul whose firm shot was kept out by Dorronsoro. Daniel Lalhlimpuia, at the other end, spurned a chance as well as both teams settled for a point.

(ISL Media)

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Indian Super League

Cracker in Mumbai as Odisha slam four past Mumbai in their first win

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Mumbai, Maharashtra: Odisha FC bounced back from two consecutive defeats in style as they hammered Mumbai City FC 4-2 to pick up their first win of the Hero Indian Super League 2019-20 at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Thursday.

The visitors impressed with their aggressive approach in the first half and were three goals up at the end of it. Xisco Hernandez (6′) opened the scoring before goals from Aridane Santana (21′, 73′) and Jerry Mawihmingthanga (41′) sealed the win. Mohamed Larbi’s (51′) penalty and a late fortuitous hit from Bipin Singh (90+4’) turned out to be nothing more than a consolation for Mumbai who looked lacklustre.

Odisha got off to a terrific start by scoring six minutes into the match. Santana played the ball towards Xisco who dribbled into the box, dropped his shoulder to beat Pratik Chaudhari and curled a simple finish into the net.

Josep Gombau’s men were then denied by the crossbar as they chased a second goal. Santana’s deflected effort from the edge of the box ricocheted wide off the woodwork.

But the visitors soon doubled their lead midway through the half. Shubham Sarangi released Jerry down the right flank whose low cross to the edge of the box was turned in by Santana with an excellent first-time effort.

Mumbai weren’t without chances at the other end but lacked composure inside the box. Amine Chermiti failed to hit the target from a Serge Kevyn cross and Diego Carlos’ cross for Kevyn went wide.

The hosts’ defence was punished with another blow just before the break. Nandhakumar Sekar cut in from the left and sent a curling effort at the goal which hit the bar. The rebound fell to Jerry who took a touch and dispatched it into the net to stun the home crowd.

Mumbai’s pursuit for a way back into the game was helped when Kevyn chased a lob into the box and collided with an onrushing Francisco Dorronsoro, forcing the referee to point to the spot. Mohamed Larbi calmly slotted home from 12 yards to open a window of hope for his team.

The game slowed down considerably after the hour-mark and Mumbai struggled to sustain the intensity with which they started the second half. Odisha waited for their moment and soon added the fourth goal.

After a neat exchange of passes outside the box, Jerry swung a delightful cross into the box from the right which was headed home by Santana who completed a brace and doused the home crowd’s hopes of a comeback.

Just as the game wound down in injury time, Bipin’s hopeful drilled effort from the left flank crept past Dorronsoro at his near post.

(ISL Media)

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Indian Super League

Gyan heads winner for NorthEast United

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Guwahati, Assam: Star striker Asamoah Gyan handed NorthEast United FC their first win of the Hero Indian Super League season after netting the winner in a 2-1 result over Odisha FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic stadium here on Saturday.

The home team drew first blood when Redeem Tlang scored the quickest goal of the season (2’). Odisha equalised through Xisco Hernandez (71’) before defender Carlos Delgado was sent off. The Highlanders made their advantage count through Gyan who popped up with a header six minutes from time.

The win takes NorthEast to the top of the table while Odisha slumped to their second loss in as many matches.

The hosts enjoyed the best possible start to the game when they roared into the lead with just two minutes on the clock. Martin Chaves started the move with a run down the left flank before finding Panagiotis Triadis down the middle. The Greek midfielder found Tlang in space down the right and the youngster tucked a finish past Arshdeep Singh to send the home crowd into raptures.

NorthEast looked assured in possession following the opener and caused a few problems for the Odisha defence. The visitors themselves had some joy going forward but poor final balls let them down.

NorthEast went close to a second goal in the 22nd minute when Triadis managed to keep a corner alive down the left and whipped a cross in for Wayne Vaz, whose header flew inches wide of the target.

Odisha started to grow into the game around the half an hour mark and almost got a goal of their own. Xisco Hernandez whipped a freekick into the box and it was met by Delgado, but he saw his header acrobatically pushed on to the bar by custodian Subhasish Roy Chowdhury.

Odisha head coach Josep Gombau opted to make a double change at half-time, bringing in Senegalese midfielder Diawandou Diagne and winger Nandhakumar Sekar. And the substitutes almost immediately did the job for Gombau. Diagne, after a good run down the right, flashed a dangerous cross across the face of goal in the 51st minute.

Nandha went close for Odisha soon after as they turned up the heat on NorthEast. The winger latched on to a fantastic chipped pass from Xisco to get into the box, sidestepped a defender and pulled the trigger, only to see his effort cleared off the line by an alert Kai Heerings.

The pressure finally told for Odisha in the 71st minute. Diagne’s brilliant cross from the right was flicked in smartly by Xisco with the outside of his left boot.

However, drama ensued two minutes later as Delgado was sent off for bringing down NorthEast substitute Maximilian Barreira.

With numerical advantage on their side, NorthEast piled on the pressure. They created a flurry of chances before finally getting the winner six minutes from time. Lalthathanga Khawlhring’s corner was headed in by star striker Gyan to hand his side their first win of the season.

(ISL Media)

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Indian Super League

10-man Jamshedpur deliver a killer blow to Odisha

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Jamshedpur, Jharkhand: A 10-man Jamshedpur FC overcame the odds and put up a spirited fight to defeat Odisha FC 2-1 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex here on Tuesday.

Farukh Choudhary broke the deadlock in the 17th minute fortuitously, but the lead was put in danger by a red card that Bikash Jairu picked up with 10 minutes to go for the half-time whistle. Aridane Santana stuck soon after to restore parity for Odisha FC but a fighting second-half culminated in Sergio Castel finding a winner in the 85th minute for the hosts.

The teams looked to get on the scoresheet early and it were Odisha FC that threatened first. Xisco Hernandez fed Jerry Mawhmingthanga down the right flank and the winger’s floating cross was headed just wide by Aridane Santana.

Odisha continued to push and went close again four minutes later. Xisco split the Jamshedpur defence to send Jerry free down the right flank but the former Jamshedpur winger’s curling effort ricocheted off the post.

Fortune, however, favoured Jamshedpur as they eased into a one-goal lead in the 17th minute. Noe Acosta found Farukh Choudhary in space on the right flank and the Indian forward’s drilled effort into the box took a deflection off defender Rana Gharami and bulged the net.

Jamshedpur bossed the midfield after scoring the opening goal but Odisha’s efforts to get back into the game were helped by a straight red card for Bikash Jairu. With Jerry getting in behind the defence and having just the goalkeeper to beat in the 35th minute, Jairu slid in and brought the 22-year-old down.

The visitors made the most of the one-man advantage and equalised five minutes later. Jerry was influential again as he sent a low cross into the centre from the right for Santana who produced a stunning first-time strike to silence the home crowd.

Odisha had more of the ball after the break, utilising the space that was opened up due to the sending off. However, there were chances created at both ends of the field.

Santana set Nandhakumar Sekar up perfectly inside the box after a neat one-two but Joyner Lourenco’s timely intervention denied the visitors a shot on target. Jamshedpur then found themselves in a two-on-one attacking scenario but Farukh’s cross, intended for Castel in the centre, was cut off by Shubham Sarangi just in time.

The game was stretched and the teams found space on counter-attacks. Farukh missed a glorious chance to score in one such speedy push forward as Piti lobbed the ball into space for Sergio Castel to chase. The striker squared it to the India forward who wrongly chose to return the favour and lost the ball.

A 10-man Jamshedpur were finally rewarded for their resilience in the 85th minute. Piti found Castel in space once again on the counter and the striker dinked the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro to net what turned out to be the crucial match-winner.

(ISL Media)

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Indian Super League

Odisha FC unveil official logo

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Bhubaneswar, Odisha: The latest addition to the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL), Odisha FC, on Sunday, unveiled their official logo. The club came into existence after an MoU was signed between Delhi Soccer Private Limited and the Government of Odisha, last month.

The logo of Odisha FC embodies the heritage and the culture of the state of Odisha and the vision and the ideology of its parent company, GMS.

The chakra in the logo gets its origin from the famous Konark temple in the state. The temple is designed in the form of a chariot and the 24 chakras are the wheels of it. Its position in the logo represents movement and development. The club always strives for excellence, and believes in youth power and thus, the wheel of time sits at the crest of the logo.

The ship is a representation of GMS, the parent company of the club. GMS is the world’s largest buyer of ships and offshore assets.

Speaking on the occasion, Club Director, Rohan Sharma said, “Our logo is the first step towards connecting with the people of Odisha. It is a very vibrant and colourful state and the logo represents it. The Chakra in the logo is again a reflection of the rich heritage and the culture of Odisha.”

Along with the logo, the club has adopted #AmaTeamAmaGame as its official tagline, which translates to ‘Our team, our game’.

The Hero ISL 2019-20 season kickstarts on 20th October 2019 and Odisha FC play their first home match at the Kalinga Stadium on the 24th November.

(ISL Media)

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