Jorge Diaz broke the deadlock just after the hour-mark before Alvaro Vazquez doubled the lead in the 82nd minute with a stunning strike from behind the half-way line.
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Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic was delighted by the fact that his side “in the second half, responded the correct way” in the 2-1 win against NorthEast United FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) fixture at the Tilak Maidan on Friday. KBFC didn’t have a great opening half as it was NEUFC who looked the better side. However, after the break, the Yellow Army came out with more intent and broke the deadlock just after the hour-mark through Jorge Diaz and then Alvaro Vazquez doubled the lead with probably the goal of the season.
A roller coaster of emotions ft. @KeralaBlasters‘ head coach @ivanvuko19! ?#KBFCNEU #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/G0MQRc5FJb
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) February 4, 2022
Although Khalid Jamil’s side pulled one back in the stoppage time through Irshad, KBFC secured their sixth win of the season to climb to the second spot in the standings with 23 points from 13 games.
Vukomanovic addressed the media during the post-match press conference and when asked about how pleased he was with the performance, the Serbian said: “I must admit that I’m really pleased because we knew that before this game, that for us, it will be the most difficult game of the season. When you are facing the opponent who actually has nothing to lose the and come to play a relaxed game. From our side, where you’re facing this moment where you need to win, you must win, you must get those points.
“And especially with all the things that have happened in the last period with COVID and isolation. Today, for us, it was really hard, especially in the first half, where we wanted to show certain things that we didn’t show, and actually, in the dressing room, we needed to say certain things to shuffle a little bit, our situation.
Blasters came out all guns blazing in the second half and put their nose in front in the 62nd minute. Left-back Nishu Kumar’s deep cross was headed across goal by Harmajot Singh Khabra and Diaz headed home from close range to take the lead.
In the 82nd minute, Blasters extended the lead courtesy of a stunning strike from Vazquez. The Spanish striker scored from 59 meters out. Realising that the rival goalkeeper Subashish Roy was out of position, Vazquez sent a spectacular lone-ranger from behind the half-line. Roy dived to his right but he could do nothing as the ball bounced near him and went in.
Head coach added “In the second half, we responded in a correct way, because we needed to make the difference, we needed to push harder, we need to score the goals to achieve three points. As a coach, I’m very pleased because in difficult circumstances, and especially in our difficult moments, fighting for the top of the table, to be there, to stay there, and to compete till the end, we knew that we had to overcome ourselves today.
“And again, for us so far, it was the most difficult game and we have to continue working hard, even if now we will have less time with many games. But again, we must be content tonight. Need to relax, recharge, recover and get ready for the next game.”
