ISL 2022-23: Kerala Blasters FC’s Ivan Vukomanovic happy with clean sheet against NorthEast United FC
Dimitrios Diamantakos’ brace against NorthEast United FC in the first half sealed the three points for Kerala Blasters FC on Sunday.
FollowIvan Vukomanovic, the head coach of Kerala Blasters FC, was thrilled with his team's clean sheet as they defeated NorthEast United 2-0 on Sunday in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 at Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Kerala Blasters FC earned all three points thanks to a brace from Dimitrios Diamantakos in the first half, which helped them get back on track and move up to third place in the Hero ISL rankings. The Blasters' victory over the Highlanders marked their fifth straight home victory in Kochi.
After his team recorded its fifth clean sheet of the year, Vukomanovic was pleased, although he thought the hosts should have handled the second half better.
"There’s a mental aspect in how you have to manage these kind of games.. and in these kind of games, if you don’t score quick enough, the opponent starts believing more. They get more power, more concentration and more time passes, you find yourself in trouble and have to push harder. The more you have to open the game and then you can get punished at the back. In the first half, we wanted to push hard and create chances which we did. We created many chances to score more goals,” Vukomanovic said in the post-match press conference.
“The boys in the second half wanted to push more and score the third goal and make the game over and manage it. However, we were not capable of scoring the third goal despite some chances. And then, we entered a nervous period where you try to have fun and do nice things which are not efficient. We lost balls in dangerous positions and invited counter attacks. That made me frustrated, because as a coach I want (my players) to be efficient and get the job done. These kind of things were different. The players need to manage the situations - get the game under control, get the ball under control, try to open the gaps and create chances. At the end, we are happy with a clean sheet because it’s been a while. We’re back on the third spot and have five big steps to go," he added.
In the first half, Kerala Blasters FC was led by Diamantakos, who scored two goals late on to undermine NorthEast United FC's spirits.
With nine goals scored so far this year, the Greek striker leads KBFC in both goals scored and goals contributed (12) for the Blasters. The striker was lauded by Vukomanovic, who also said he was a valuable team member.
“For a striker, it’s important to score goals. When they score goals, they get that confidence. Players like Dimi (Diamantakos) are big professionals. He has nice clubs on his CV. He has played for one of the best clubs in his home country, he has played for some good clubs in Germany. These kind of players bring extra quality. I'm glad to have these kind of players, even last season (like Alvaro Vazquez and Jorge Diaz) and this season, because they are hungry to succeed and score goals. When we are scouting, we look for these kind of profiles (like Diamantakos,” Vukomanovic stated.
The Blasters will hope to build on this win as they take on East Bengal FC in their next challenge in Kolkata.
