Young winger Rahul KP, who was part of the India U-17 team that played the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017, made his debut for Kerala Blasters in their 0-1 defeat against Mumbai City on Thursday.
After sitting on the bench as an unused substitute against ATK in the season opener, which Blasters won 2-1, the Keralite came on in the 54th minute in the second match, replacing Halicharan Narzary. The Yellow Army lost the match to a late Amine Chermiti strike but the youngster is remaining patient and hoping for another chance in the first team soon.
After the game, Rahul told Goal , "I have to be calm. I'm remaining patient. Because I am young, I have to get used to ISL, the new players and the intensity."
He added, "The atmosphere is very different everywhere. We have a lot of fans here (Kerala), we never play to disappoint them. ISL and I-League are different games but it is still football everywhere."
Having previously played in the first team for All India Football Federation's (AIFF) developmental side Indian Arrows in I-League, Rahul said that his mentality is different when playing for Blasters.
Next Match
"Everyone has to wait for their chance. I got to play today, when I get my next chance, I have to prove. When I played for Indian Arrows, they are a developmental team of AIFF, so I am playing for my development. Here, I am playing to win. So I want to prove myself, only then I can get in."
"We won the first game, we tried well in the second. We didn't play to lose. We now have to work hard."
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