Owen Coyle feels Jamshedpur FC did not deserve to lose against Blasters

This was the Men of Steel's only second defeat against the Yellown Army.

Kerala Blasters narrowly emerged victorious against ISL 2021-22 League Winners' Shield champions Jamshedpur FC. A misplaced header from Ricky Lallawmawma followed by a brilliant chip by Sahal Abdul Samad over TP Rehenesh was the difference between the teams on the night. Owen Coyle shared his thoughts on the game in the post-match press conference.

Thoughts on game

“Kerala have advantage by one goal heading into the second leg. But, if anybody watched the game tonight would agree we could have been three goals up, considering the chances Daniel Chima and Mobashir (Rahman) had.

"We should have done better but that being said, they got their goal and in the second half Kerala only defended. The free-kick from (Adrian) Luna which hit the post was their only chance,” the coach shared.

On being hampered by injuries

Owen Coyle also spoke on the team’s injury problems which hampered them against the Blasters. “We were decimated by injuries. We were asked to come in at Fatorda to play our home game when the Bambolim is our home pitch. But, that will not stop our players, we will go on (into the second leg) with great heart and spirit.

We were the team in-charge and will head into the second game positively. The team have injury concerns, but we have been winning games. We are the best team for a reason and we have shown that.”

Mindset going into second leg

“Kerala has got wonderful players. Their three foreign boys and Sahal were on the top of the game. They have got quality and I knew it was going to be a tough game. But, if you analyze the game, we certainly did not deserve to lose. We have to continue doing what we did in the first half. If we do that, we will strive for the finals,” the boss stated on the coming game.

“We have to score in the second leg, it's as simple as that. If we don't, our chances to get into the finals are over. We will go with a positive mindset and Kerala will do what they did in the second half tonight, nicely.”

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