East Bengal head coach Oscar Bruzon shares his thoughts on dramatic late draw

Muhammad Ajsal’s header in extra time helps Kerala Blasters hold East Bengal 1-1.

The Tuskers rescue a point at the death as Muhammad Ajsal’s header cancels out Youssef Ezzejjari’s spot-kick. East Bengal FC walked a tightrope once again, and it came back to haunt the side as it was held to a 1-1 draw by Kerala Blasters FC at the Salt Lake Stadium in the Indian Super League (ISL ) 2025-26 match on Saturday.

East Bengal was moments away from returning to winning ways after dropping points in consecutive matches, but it was always going to be tricky with a one-goal lead. The Red and Gold, in the second-half, had many chances, but the quality of the final ball was disappointing, with Ezzejjari and Miguel kept quiet by the Blasters. 

In the end, it took a set-piece in the second minute of second-half additional time as Ajsal capitalised from some loose defending from the Red and Gold and bagged the equaliser for the Blasters with a corner. With this draw, the Kochi side picks its first point of the ISL 2025-26 season. 

After the match East Bengal FC head coach, Oscar Bruzon addressed the media. Here is a detailed report of the post-match press conference between East Bengal FC and Kerala Blasters FC.

“It was lack of concentration”- Oscar Bruzon after the disappointing draw against Tuskers

East Bengal head coach Oscar Bruzon was disappointed as his side failed to grab all the three points against Kerala in a home game.

Oscar explained: “Yes, it was a complete lack of concentration at the end, we conceded the goal and had to settle for a draw.”

“Yes, they were controlling the ball in the second half very well, creating a lot of pressure on us as well. But we controlled the game very well later on, but the missed chances cost us. They were creating a lot of open chances through the left flank, but again due to lack of concentration, we conceded the goal from a set-piece and had to settle for a draw,” he also added.

Oscar commented on Saul Crespo’s performance

Oscar Bruzon praised Crespo’s impact in the game and how he helped East Bengal in creating the chances.

He stated: “Saul was really helping the team during the first twenty minutes of the game when we were going for the game. But later on Kerala were creating chances very dangerously, and Saul was not able to hold the ball completely. But he tried hard and was helping the team a lot. He is not completely match-fit so during the break he told us that he can continue for at least 10-15 minutes in the second half, so we had to change him with Souvik, but I’m happy with his effort,”he added.

Oscar Analyze East Bengal’s performance against the Tuskers

The Spanish gaffer have analyzed East Bengal’s disappointing performance against Kerala and commented on losing out from getting full points from the match once again.

Oscar stated, “Yes, once again, I would like to say it was due to lack of concentration that we had to settle for a draw. We were going for the game in the first half, until Kerala created a lot of pressure on us in the last 15 minutes of the first half. Again in the second half, we were creating chances but couldn’t capitalise on those chances and yet again, due to a lack of concentration had to concede a goal from the set-piece. But we are improving day by day, and I’m quite happy with the performance.”

“Yes, we should have won the match and grabbed all three points. But had to settle for one point. This sometimes happens in football, we have to digest this and focus on our next match.”

“Yes, our next match is against Mohammedan, which is fortunately again a home game for us. We would like to win the game and finish with all three points before the FIFA International break. We would like to rectify our mistakes and concentrate on our next game. We will start practising for the next game from tomorrow itself,” he also added.

Oscar’s message for the Red and Gold supporters after the draw against Tuskers

Oscar Bruzon acknowledged the frustration among the supporters of East Bengal after a disappointing performance against Kerala Blasters FC in a home game.

“Yes, I can understand the disappointment and frustration among the fans. They always come to the stadium to win the match. But sometimes we win, sometimes we lose; it is a part of football. They have to be patient, we are improving game by game. They need to come to the stadium and support us again as they do. We have to digest this one and need to focus on our next match against Mohammedan, which is again, fortunately, a home game for us,” he finished off with.

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