Fatorda: NorthEast United FC and Kerala Blasters are set to face each other in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 match at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday As both of the teams are coming back from a 4-2 defeat with their respective teams, they will be looking to overcome their opening day defeats and get off to a winning start.
NorthEast United FC assistant coach Alison Kharsyntiew believes that their upcoming match against Kerala Blasters FC will be a tough one, even though the Tuskers lost their opening fixture in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 against ATK Mohun Bagan.
Having fielded an all-Indian back four, the Highlanders also succumbed to a 2-4 loss against a well-drilled Bengaluru FC side last week.
Shorn Brown, who scored a goal, was the most impressive player for them in the game and will hold the key against a Blasters side who have been vulnerable defensively.
He said even though Kerala Blasters FC lost the first game, they are a very good side, with a good coach and some of good players.
“So we have to prepare very well tomorrow. We have to go out there, you know, with a strong mentality and do our best in every department, in attacking, defending and hopefully give our best so that we’ll get the three points at the end of the game, but it will be a tough, tough match against them,” Kharsyntiew said.
Meanwhile, following an upsetting defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan, Kerala Blasters FC coach Ivan Vukomanovic remained calm and backed his team to bounce back ahead of their second game of the Hero Indian Super League.
Vukomanovic revealed that his team played well in the previous game, and urged his team to cut down mistakes against the Highlanders who KBFC haven’t beaten since the 2017-18 season.
“We expected to face toughness in the first game. We faced a strong organization from our opponent, I believe we played – if we speak truly – we played a good game. We controlled most of the game. We scored goals from open play. And I think that even seeing that kind of game, we made mistakes and conceded goals. We have to avoid those moments and have control over the game,” he said.
“We must proceed further with our playing style, having more grip and control on the game. That’s the way I want to play. That’s the way I think about football because I like to attack, attack, and attack. The intensity of attack changes and of course, controlling the game and controlling these kinds of mistakes, avoiding these moments that we consider an easy go. We have to work hard on these kinds of things and hopefully, it will be better and more enjoyable. For the next game, we will try and play quality football with well-organized gameplay to create good chances and scoring opportunities.
So, we’ll see tomorrow,” Vukomanovic added.
