"From a sinking ship to a runaway train": Ashley Westwood speaks on Kerala Blasters' transformation in ISL 2025-26
Blasters ended the season with a six-game unbeaten run under Ashley Westwood.
Kerala Blasters FC signed off their Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 campaign in style with a thrilling 2-1 victory over FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday night. Backed by another electric atmosphere in the final home game of the season, the Blasters extended their unbeaten run to six matches and ended the campaign on a positive note.
The visitors started brightly and enjoyed more possession in the opening exchanges, but Kerala Blasters stayed compact defensively and looked dangerous on the counterattack. Captain Aiban led from the front with strong tackles, while Fallou and Hormipam stood firm at the back to deny Goa clear opportunities.
The Blasters slowly grew into the contest and nearly broke the deadlock midway through the first half when Kevin Yoke created space down the left before finding Vibin, whose effort was brilliantly saved by Goa goalkeeper Bob. Franchu and Nihal also combined well in attack as the home side continued to threaten going forward.
After a disciplined first-half display, the breakthrough finally arrived moments into the second half. Kevin Yoke produced a moment of magic in the 48th minute, cutting inside from the left before curling a stunning strike into the top corner to score his first-ever Indian Super League goal and send the Kochi crowd into delight.
FC Goa responded through Nemil in the 62nd minute, levelling the scores with a composed finish after a low cross into the box. But the Blasters continued to push forward with intent, driven on by the energy inside the stadium.
The decisive moment came in the 81st minute when Franchu delivered a dangerous corner into the area, and Fallou rose to finish from close range, restoring Kerala Blasters’ lead and sparking wild celebrations among the home fans. Despite late pressure from the visitors, the Blasters’ defence held strong deep into stoppage time, with Fallou once again leading the backline with authority to ensure all three points stayed in Kochi.
Following the victory, Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ashley Westwood addressed the media. Here is a detailed report of the post-match press conference of the match between Kerala Blasters FC and FC Goa.
Thoughts on the season
When asked about his thoughts on the season, Ashley expressed immense satisfaction with the team’s strong finish, highlighting their four consecutive wins and an unbeaten home run since his arrival. Pointing out that his personal record of 16 points from seven games yields a league-winning average of 2.3 points per match, he noted that they finished as the most in-form side in the division. While he lamented running out of games to mount a full title challenge, he praised the players’ hard work in transforming what a sinking ship was into a runaway train.
“No, of course it feels good, it always feels good when you win. Now I’ve had four consecutive wins, unbeaten in five, obviously unbeaten at home since I’ve been here and I think that puts me personally on 16 points from seven games, I think it’s something like 2.3 points a game, which wins you the league anywhere in the world really.“
“If you can collect 2.3 points a game you’ll win the league, you know it feels obviously that we haven’t but if we had some more games we’d certainly be a big contender, we’re the best team form wise in the league, we’re winning games consecutively, scoring goals and the players have worked really, really hard, just a shame it’s come to an end, a shame we haven’t got any more games left because like I said when it first came it was a bit of a sinking ship and we’ve turned it into a bit of a runaway train.“
On the future in Indian Football
With the future of Indian Football being uncertain, Ashley was asked about his plans for the upcoming season, to which he answered:
“No, you’ve answered the question really, next season we don’t know, you know I’m a coach who likes to coach, I don’t like to stand still, but we just have to wait and see, I believe there’s meetings towards the end of the week or whatever, let’s hope sensibility prevails and you know India still has a competitive league next season.“
On Blasters players not selected to the national team?
“No, I think personally you only have to look at our players, you know they’re playing well, we like to play football, normally obviously goal is different tonight, we make four or five hundred passes per game.
We’ve got some good footballers, but I think if you watch the Indian side, you know maybe it’s not the best footballers that get selected, maybe it’s the most physical, obviously we do know that they’re very direct, you know they favour kind of long ball and you know maybe our players are getting overlooked because they like to play football and maybe it’s not fitted to the Indian national team style at the minute.“
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Niranjan R Prabhu is an Economics student from Kochi with an enduring passion for Indian football, especially as a devoted Kerala Blasters FC fan — a club he considers part of his life. Beyond the game, he writes on culture, Indian economic development, and sustainability, always eager to explore ideas in depth. His days are a balancing act between college, writing, and travel.