Kibu Vicuna laments lack of preparation time after defeat against ATK Mohun Bagan

The Kerala Blasters head coach spoke after his side wasted a two-goal lead before losing to the Mariners.

In what was a very disappointing result for two-time Indian Super League (ISL) finalists Kerala Blasters, the Yellow Army conceded a 2-3 defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan on Sunday. Led by head coach Kibu Vicuna, the Kochi outfit raced to a 2-0 lead within 52 minutes, but the Green and Maroons bounced back and scored thrice to take home the three points.

After the game, Vicuna did not try to hide his disappointment while sharing his thoughts with the media. He stressed on the need to improve really soon because they had another game in three days. "We have no time to think about the match," he said, before adding, "There is little time for it, as we have to correct things ahead of our next game against Mumbai City FC. But I will be straight-forward now. I am very upset and disappointed with the result and so is the whole team."

ATK Mohun Bagan's goals

After Costa Nhamoinesu scored Kerala Blasters' second goal in the 51st minute, new signing Marcelinho pulled one back for the Mariners. Speaking about it, Vicuna said, "I thought their first goal was key.

"Also, the boys have told me in the dressing room that the penalty was wrongly given because it was a handball of Manvir Singh before it bounced off Jessel (Carneiro)'s hand. Overall, I am hurt by the result," he further added. However, the 48-year-old also clarified that there was no panic in his or the team's decisions, despite conceding the third goal late in the game.

"There was no panic. it was a game that we wanted to win. But then, they scored in the 88th minute and still we had a couple of good chances. Well, this is football. We want to win every match, but the other team wants the same thing as well," he commented.

Kerala Blasters' performance

"We know that ATK Mohun Bagan are a good team, but we played well and scored two goals," Kibu Vicuna said, when asked to compare his team's performance with that of the Mariners. "I am proud of my players. They are giving their best and are doing as well as they can.

"We now have to go back and prepare for our next game in three days against Mumbai. We are a professional club and we have to face this situation," he signed off.