Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic feels the eight-match unbeaten run of his team is special. The Tuskers continued their good show in the Hero ISL 2022-23 as they bested previous season’s League Shield winners Jamshedpur FC by 3-1 at their home venue of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi.
The Men in Yellow had lost their previous match against current table toppers Mumbai City FC by 2-0. However, Vukomanovic’s team has been at its absolute best in the last eight matches, registering seven wins and one draw.
Meanwhile, Apostolos Giannou gave an early lead to the home team in the ninth minute but it was soon canceled by Daniel Chukwu’s equalizer in the 17th minute. However, Diamantakos (through penalty) and Adrian Luna scored on either side of half-time to help their team gain three crucial points.
The eight-match unbeaten run is the best for Kerala Blasters FC in the history of the league.
“We are in the most important part of the season. The whole of December and the first half of January are crucial for the Hero ISL. If as a team if you are able to stay in a positive line and collect the points, try to stay unbeatable, then you are on the right path. After a few changes (to the squad) to the season, with new faces, we started rebuilding a new team with new players. So far we are happy with the progress, we are happy with the players and how they fit into the team with youngsters coming into the team. It’s a kind of process that you have to respect,” Vukomanovic said in the post-match press conference.
“Of course, when you sit again in a positive flow and positive momentum of eight games in a row without a defeat, for Kerala Blasters FC, it is something special. Seeing our past..not only last season but the previous season where as a club, we were struggling a lot to reach higher levels. And now, for the second season in a row, we are among the best and we want to stay here. As a coach, I was delighted to see the boys enjoying this game playing nice quality football, with combinations. It was a pleasure. I’m happy with the victory and we hope to continue in a good way,” he added.
Speaking on his team’s strategy, the Serbian revealed they knew Jamshedpur FC will play with the same formation with which they had played against FC Goa in their last game. Vukomanovic highlighted it was important for his team to have a compact defense.
“In the first half, we knew that Jamshedpur FC would play with a different formation. That was the formation they played against FC Goa in their previous game at home and they did well. With that confidence that they had throughout the game, even though they conceded the late goal in that draw, they were good. And we expected them to start the game in the same manner,” he said.
“We wanted to be more organized and focused on keeping the (defensive) line compact. And from that position, try to use those empty spaces on the side, because when you play with that formation, there is space that you can create very often in situations like two against one on the side. The boys did really well in the first half. We created many chances and situations in the box of our opponents which resulted in two goals. There were many other situations where we could have scored. Apo (Apostolos Giannou) also had one header that was saved by Eli Sabia on the line,” he added.
Kerala Blasters will look to continue the unbeaten streak against Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday.
