''NorthEast United defended really well' - Kerala Blasters interim boss Ishfaq Ahmed credits high-flying Highlanders

Kerala Blasters ended their 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign with a 0-2 defeat against NorthEast United on Friday. 

VP Suhair and Lalengmawia got on the scoresheet in the first half itself and Blasters failed to mount a comeback and couldn't register a single shot on target in their final game of the season. 

Interim coach Ishfaq Ahmed feels that water breaks during games have affected the team's rhythm and his team has lost focus after such breaks in play. 

He said, "We conceded soon after the water break. This has been our story. Not paying attention to small details and we conceded. We were dominating, created two good chances from set-pieces, Bakary Kone missed a clear goal, then water break happened and we switched off for a second and conceded."

Ishfaq Ahmed took charge of the team for two games after Kibu Vicuna was sacked following a heavy 0-4 defeat against Hyderabad that threw the team out of the top-four race. Blasters brought their campaign to a close without registering a win in their last eight matches.

The last few games were an opportunity to give young players a run-out and Ishfaq feels he has managed to do it.

"All the players are young. Jeakson, Prasanth, Rahul are young. They are the future and we played them. Givson, Puitea are the future and they played. I cannot change the whole XI. I wanted to have a good game and also give them chances. Had the match gone differently, I would have definitely put our 18-year-old goalkeeper (Prabhsukhan Gill) on.

ISL

"The players wanted to sign off with a good feeling. But we have to give credit to NorthEast also, they defended really well, I thought their defensive midfielder Khassa Camara was amazing."

"When you are the interim head coach, it is really difficult with nothing to play for. For the second goal, we can't do anything, it is a fabulous strike. The first goal yes, we could have done better and the goalkeeper could have done better."

Right-back Sandeep Singh, who recently signed a contract extension at the club, did not have a good game against the Highlanders but Ishfaq backed his player. 

"Sandeep is a wonderful guy, he always gives his 100 per cent. This match is a good lesson for him. When he goes back and watches this game, he will learn a lot. We will help him learn from his mistakes."

Ishfaq shared his thoughts on managing the team for the last couple of games but did not respond to questions regarding his future at the club. 

"This was a really good experience for me. We should thank the ISL, we see that the Indian coaches are doing well, Khalid bhai is doing well. Steven Dias, (Naushad) Moosa bhai was also there, it is good for Indian coaches. I will take a lot of positives from these two games."