Jose Molina praises three players' efforts in impressive Kerala Blasters thrashing

Jose Molina’s Mohun Bagan are just a win away from ISL 2024-25 shield.

Jose Molina’s Mohun Bagan took a huge step forward to getting even closer to sealing the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) title with a 3-0 win over Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on Saturday (15 February).

Despite a sloppy start to the game, a first-half brace from Jamie Maclaren and Alberto Rodriguez’s second-half strike helped them get a decisive win in the ISL.

After the match, Jose Molina praised his side’s ability to bounce back from a poor start and being clinical in converting their opportunities. He stated: “Kerala Blasters put us under pressure in the first half because the ymoved the ball in a good way and we had to defend too much at times. They had a few chances to score, overall they had one good chance which forced a great save from Vishal Kaith. We couldn’t be clear with the ball in the beginning, we lost possession too easily. But I think the goals helped us be calm to move the ball and keep the ball.

“We have Jamie Maclaren who scored two goals today after two good actions from Liston Colaco for the first one and a really good pass from Jason Cummings for the second. Maybe that give a boost in confidence and caused Kerala Blasters’ performance level to drop a little bit.

“It was tough for them to see they went down 2-0. In the second half, Kerala maintained a good defence, but maybe we could’ve scored a couple more goals. It wasn’t a brilliant match in terms of attacking football, but it was a great match for our defence and for the clinical moments in front of the goal,” he added.

On the Odisha FC match and ISL Shield

With this win, Mohun Bagan have moved to 49 points in the ISL. That means a win over Odisha FC in their next game (on February 23) can help the Mariners seal the title. Speaking about the next game and his players’ emotions heading to it, the gaffer claimed: “We are happy and we are going to celebrate a little bit and enjoy the night as we won. But it won’t be a huge party, we’ll sleep in the hotel and tomorrow we’ll go back to Kolkata and start thinking about the Odisha FC match.

“It’s a crucial match for us and it could be the match we seal the ISL shield. We have to prepare our best, trying to win the shield in front of our fans. I’m sure they’ll fill up the stadium and support us. That gives a really good chance for us to seal the shield,” he finished off on.

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