Kerala Blasters FC head coach Mikael Stahre shared his displeasure as his team succumbed to three consecutive defeats in the Indian Super League (ISL) match following their 2-1 loss against Hyderabad FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.
The Blasters opened the scoring with Jesus Jimenez, who gave the home team a perfect start with his top-notch first-time finish in the 13th minute on Thursday night. With this goal, the Spanish forward has now scored in five consecutive games, equaling Dimitrios Diamantakos’ record.
Despite taking the lead, Stahre’s men failed to hold on to the 1-0 advantage as Hyderabad FC netted the equalizer just before halftime, with Andrei Alba’s fantastic finish from the edge of the box. The Brazilian midfielder found himself on the scoresheet again, scoring the winner from the penalty spot, securing back-to-back away wins for Hyderabad FC.
The Kerala Blasters FC head coach was dissatisfied with how his team conceded the equalizer in the dying minutes of the first half. However, Stahre commended his players’ efforts, especially before Alba’s goal, when the Blasters generated numerous offensive moves through both flanks.
“I think we came out really well; I think we played exactly like the game plan we addressed. We used the wide areas and created lots of one-against-one, and we did, so the first goal was exactly according to the game plan,” he said in the post-match press conference.
“I think we controlled the game pretty well in the first half, then out of the blue we conceded 1-1; it was way too weak in their own box. Then we changed; we put in Noah (Sadaoui) in the second half; of course, it was a disappointment to concede that goal quite late (in the first half),” he added.
Despite the defeat, the performance of young star Korou Singh offered a positive takeaway for the coach.
At 17 years and 340 days, Korou Singh became the third youngest player to start an ISL match and the youngest ever to do so for Kerala Blasters FC. Additionally, the teenager provided the assist for Jimenez’s opener, making him the youngest player in league history to register an assist, surpassing Jerry Lalrinzuala.
Stahre was full of praise for the young footballer, stating, “Of course, I see him as a really big talent; he has been with us a few weeks; he came back from a national team, and he impressed in training sessions and also in reserve games, so he came in well against Mumbai City FC, and it was a quite easy decision for me to play him in this game.”
“To sub him out was easy to do; he was completely tired and he lacked energy; he also conceded a yellow card, so it was a no-brainer, but you will definitely see more of him in the future,” Stahre signed off.
