ISL 2016: Steve Coppell blames hardluck for Kerala Blasters’ mellow defeat against ATK

Match 5 of the Hero Indian Super League witnessed Kerala Blasters succumbing to second of their continuous defeats in the ongoing tournament. This time disappointments have been brought upon the Yellow Brigade by Atletico de Kolkata as they crushed them 1-0 at their home turf in Kochi. 

Steve Coppell, Kerala Blasters head coach, while commenting on the defeat blamed luck for not being on their side last night.

As stated by him- 

“I think we deserved something from the game. They are a very good side, they will be difficult for many teams to beat as they are very composed in possession. I think we played with really good energy. They played with a little more composure in certain situations for sure but I was really pleased with my players and their commitment and their drive to take the game to their opposition.”

A night of slender margins as @atletidekolkata beat @KeralaBlasters 1-0 in front of a phenomenal home crowd! #KERvATK #HeroISL pic.twitter.com/mOL9QJutDl

— Star Sports Football (@StarFootball) 5 October 2016

Coppell on the absence of Aaron Hughes in the coming matches-

“Aaron Hughes our marquee player, he was called up by Northern Ireland. They have two world cup qualifiers this Saturday and Tuesday. The manager of Northern Ireland phoned me and told me he had a few injuries and could not risk having another injury. He apologized, he realized that he is an important player, the marquee player. But because of the five-day rule Aaron had to go back. He will play the two games against San Marino and Germany and come back to us next Wednesday or Thursday. It is a difficult situation for him because he wanted to stay but because of the FIFA regulations he really did not have any say in the matter”

Also read: How Atletico de Kolkata managed a narrow win over Kerala Blasters 

On the other hand, celebrations were right in order at the camps of Atletico de Kolkata, which registered their first win last night.

Speaking on the victory, ATK’s head coach Francisco Molina quoted as saying,

“Yes, absolutely happy. I think the only thing that is important is to win. We won the match today. Very tough match if you ask. But we had a great match, a great first half. I think we could have scored some goals. It’s true we have to improve our last pass or finishing touch, try to score more goals. And in the second half we had a maybe lucky goal, similar to what happened in the last match at Kolkata. Maybe the luck came back to us and finally we won the match. Really happy with the team, great performance by all the players. Of course we can score more goals, but I’m really happy.”

 Molina’s quotes on his injured marquee Helder Postga-

“Well, Helder Postiga had a strong clash with a defender in the first half. He didn’t feel like he wanted to play. Then we decided to substitute him. We will see tomorrow when we go back to Kolkata, we will go to a hospital to do some tests and check how his ribs are. He had a strong clash in the ribs but we will see tomorrow.”

Kerala Blasters FC have their next fixture lined against Delhi Dynamos FC on 9th October, whereas Atletico de Kolkata will be competing against Mumbai City FC on 11th October 2016.