ISL 2017: Kerala Blasters’ Rene Meulensteen eyes three points against Bengaluru FC

Kerala Blasters coach Rene Meulensteen has spoken of his intention to win the tie against Bengaluru FC on the 31st December. Although the former Manchester United assistant coach acknowledged that the Blues from Bangalore are a good side, he hopes that his side can pick full points to register their second Indian Super League (ISL) win this season.

“We always look for three points. Bengaluru again, like Chennaiyin will be a big game. They will want to bounce back after a loss. They played very well against Jamshedpur. For us, it is going to be another great game to look forward to and hopefully three points at the end of it,” said Meulensteen.

He was furious with the referee for having awarded a penalty to Chennaiyin late in the game when the ball appeared to have hit the armpit of Sandesh Jhingan.

“If I sat here empty handed, I would have felt miserable. I thought we had a good performance. Jackichand (Singh) had a chance. We defended well and we had good chances coming our way. It was not a penalty for sure. Sandesh was turning away and it hits him on the body.

“A lot has been said about the standards of the referees and the linesman. I think ISL has to look at it and make a decision. It is a difficult job but they cannot have such a big say in a game. I see incidents every game in the league and I think it is time to address them,” said the former Fulham coach.

He was pleased with the performance of his team as they picked a crucial point away from home.

“There's only one way to get confidence in the team and that is winning. We had a very good performance and we had the best chances in that respect. But Chennai are up there for a reason. We had a good performance.

“Normally, we have a fairly good first eleven. Rino (Anto) tweaked his hamstring. We have to see the extent of his injury and hopefully we don't miss him for too much. He is an important player for us.

“There was a sprinkler popping out of the grass when (Paul) Rachubka went down and I think that was the issue. It was a very dangerous thing,” said Meulensteen.