ISL 2022-23: Kerala Blasters FC coach Vukomanovic dedicates historical win against Hyderabad FC to fans
By Team Newsable | First Published Nov 20, 2022, 12:35 PM ISTKerala Blasters ended Hyderabad FC’s unbeaten run in this season’s Indian Super League (ISL) with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Kerala Blasters ended Hyderabad FC's unbeaten run in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Dimitrios Diamantakos ('18) scored the only goal of the game to take the Kerala Blasters to third place in the league.
Following this win, Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic expressed delight over his team's performance and stated the victory was a historical moment for KBFC as they recorded three straight wins for the first time in ISL history. He also thanked the supporters for their unconditional support as the away fans cheered on for the team in Hyderabad.
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"Well, we knew before the game, seeing the fact that Hyderabad FC is one of the best teams in the league. We know that it will be a tough game. It will be a kind of ugly game with lots of duels, lots of difficult situations decisions for everybody, for players, for referees and we knew also coming from losing the finals. We knew that if we want to achieve something today we need to be organized, we need to be compact, and concentrate on set-pieces, and on every possible detail in order to get the points because now we are in the moment where actually we need to fight for every point," Vukomanovic said in a post-match press conference.
"We need to be focused we need to be concentrating because this year even if it's top six, we want to look like a team who is tough to beat we want to be strong in every possible aspect. Especially after three defeats in a row, we needed to change certain things about the approach or the mentality of the character and now with three victories in a row which is for us as a club, let's say a historical moment because it never happened in the history of our club. And of course, this is the momentum that we need to continue building up now we have two weeks in front of us in the next game. We need to be very calm we need to be humble knowing what's our position, knowing who we are, how we need to act, and how we need to prepare for the next period," he added.
The Kerala Blasters FC head coach remarked, "Of course, this victory means a lot to us. It means a lot to us to our fans. Special thanks to them for coming here, and cheering us also a great achievement for us as again as a club and for our owner. He is actually from Hyderabad and this victory is actually dedicated to him and his family and all the fans who are supporting us today not only here but around Kerala. In the first half, we were organized, scoring and then dropping down a little bit. Trying to stay compact, not allowing our opponents to create chances. We knew that we need to stay compact, especially Bartholomew (Ogbeche) he's one of the best strikers in the league and we knew that if you allow not only him but the other players space between the lines they can punish you anytime they want. So that's why we wanted to be more organized and more defensive, which resulted also in a second half where we didn't want to concede, there were chances on both sides. It could have gone both sides but actually, in the end, we are very clearly happy with three points."
When asked if he had any special words for the traveling Kerala Blasters FC fans, Vukomanovic said, "That kind of feeling is something that you cannot describe the way they push you not only playing at home tonight we saw that in difficult moments they are here behind you to keep your back, you know as a player also, I can speak about love, let's say experiences but not it's not the case. Now, I think that the players when they're on the beach and when they feel this kind of support, they go over the limits. They go and push even harder."
"Even when they have to defend, defend even harder, they will not allow the opponents to pass. So these kinds of things are very important and we are very grateful to have these kinds of fans. So they proved it again today. And we are very grateful. I am really grateful. I feel like he's been on one year and a half that I'm being part of this great club and great family and we feel it on every step around India not only in India and Kochi, it's a pleasure for me it's an honor and I hope that they will continue supporting because the fans feel the energy, they feel good vibrations they feel if you're working good if you're doing everything for that and we as a team as a club, we know that we have this kind of obligation to give everything for them. Whether we lose whether we win whether we draw, we want always to give everything for them because they deserve to see us doing this and fighting for the logo on the pitch so that was the case today as well," he added.
Vukomanovic also praised Dimitrios Diamantakos, who has now scored three goals in three games. "Dimi is a great guy, a great human being. It's been years now that I know him as a player. Because when he arrived, that's when we met personally. I was following him a long time ago when he was playing in Europe. He's a great guy who is working very hard on the pitch. And the fact that he needed a couple of games to adapt to Indian football, the fact that he didn't have proper pre-season. It takes time. Sometimes it takes a moment that you need," he said.
"If you speak about Adrian Luna as well, he missed most of the preseason due to personal issues and when you have that situation, you need a couple of games, a couple of weeks to put all these things together, and then you need those guys to get to know each other how they want. They need to play together and all these things like you're trying to complete the puzzle and yet it gives results. so we hope that we maintain the same atmosphere because these players are great, They're great. they create a great atmosphere and I'm really pleased as a coach to have them all," the Kerala Blasters FC head coach concluded.
Hyderabad FC will be heading to the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata next week to face ATK Mohun Bagan, while Kerala Blasters will be heading to the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur to face Jamshedpur FC.
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