Jamshedpur FC gave up a two-goal lead to drop two points in an away fixture against Kerala Blasters on Friday in Kochi.
The Men of Steel had a golden opportunity to climb atop the Indian Super League (ISL) table but Raphael Messi Bouli’s brace denied them the chance to do so.
Jamshedpur boss Antonio Iriondo was understandably disappointed after the match but accepted that it was a fair result for both teams.
“I always try to accept the result. If you take a look at the match, we were leading 2-0. We feel a little disappointed but at the end of the day, it was a fair result for both teams.”
The Spanish coach was unhappy with how his players allowed Kerala Blasters to come back in the match even though they had a healthy lead.
“The reason why Kerala (Blasters) played better, I don’t really know. They had to do everything they can to score and draw the game. I am feeling a little bit bad because, in the goals, we made things easy for them, we made stupid mistakes.”
The Men of Steel’s talismanic midfielder Piti returned to action after an injury layoff. The Spaniard capped off his return with a goal in the first half from the penalty spot.
But Iriondo replaced the midfielder at the hour mark bringing on CK Vineeth. Justifying his decision of substituting an important player like Piti, Iriondo said, “Piti has been out for five weeks, it was a lot of effort and pressure and humidity for him. 60 minutes were enough for him, we didn't want to lose him again. Vineeth played well. This is the Vineeth that we want.”
