ISL 2021-22: Kerala Blasters defeated Hyderabad FC 1-0 courtesy of a brilliant volley from Alvaro Vazquez. It was a very important clash as the win took the Blasters to the top of the table in the Indian Super League. Therefore Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic was delighted with his team’s performance on the night but he also is not getting carried away by the situation. Follow all the ISL 2021-22 LIVE Updates only on InsideSport.IN
The Serbian tactician was very happy with how his team stood up and fought against a very well drilled Hyderabad FC unit. But he also warned them that they still have half of the season to go and there should not be any complacency in the future matches.
FULL-TIME | #KBFCHFC@AlvaroVazquez91's volley is the difference as @KeralaBlasters move to the top of the #HeroISL table! 👑#LetsFootball | @HydFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/dThqGsafFc
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) January 9, 2022
Reflections from the game
“I think that tonight we played against one of the best teams in the league. I think that we played against one of the best organized teams in the league. Well balanced, the team was working consistently for a while since last year. I think that they have a great team. It’s a team that is very tough to beat and we are happy because we managed that tonight and we managed not to concede a goal,” Vukomanovic began at the post match press conference.
Speaking on his team position in the points table, Vukomanovic pointed out how the players are not thinking about these statistics because he feels that a lot more games are reaming and they cant be occupied with their position on the points table.
“We are not occupied. And we are not busy with all these statistics, because we have to know, we have to be honest that there are still ten more games, there are still 30 points to collect, to fight for. For us, every game is like a final. For us, every game is like a fight. And we have to continue like that. That’s the only way that we can collect points. That’s the only way that you can survive in this league at the top. So we will try to do our best in the second half of this competition, it will be very tough because I think that many teams will now be reorganised, every game for us will be tough like today,” Vukomanovic asserted.
The tactical strategy of not keeping more possession
The Kerala Blasters coach also highlighted how having less of the ball and taking few shots than opponents Hyderabad FC was one of his tactical ploys. “We knew that from ball possession standards, we could have less ball in our possession. But you know in football, that’s not the main statistic that will give you a guarantee to win the game.
“We wanted tonight to press them high in one certain part of the pitch. We wanted to recover the ball in part of the pitch. We wanted to be clinical in our transition, we had created many chances like that. I think in the first half even a second call we had these moments and then we were missing that efficiency or the last pass in the box where we could have even scored more goals. But anyway we should be happy with three points, that’s the only thing that counts,” Vukomanovic explained.
Opinion on Harmanjot Khabra’s injury
Lastly, when he was questioned about Harmanjot Singh Khabra’s substitution as whether it was a tactical move or was it due to injury, Vukomanovic replied, “He got a really unpleasant kick and a cut in his calf and probably he could have continued for a couple of minutes more, ten minutes more but from the medical part and also from the coaching part if you are in this kind of game, small details can make difference.
“And from our side also because Khabra is a very important player for our dressing room, for our team. We didn’t want just to throw him to the lines and get them even more injured, ” he concluded.
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