Kerala Blasters assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed was critical of his team's defensive errors after a chastening 6-3 defeat to South Indian rivals Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi on Saturday.
The Blasters were guilty of gifting far too many goals to their opposition as even a hat-trick from Bartholomew Ogbeche could not save them from a chastening defeat which virtually ended their play-off hopes.
"There were so many defensive errors. We have to go back and work on those. Some costly errors were there.( When you concede) those kinds of goals with a quality striker upfront, you will pay the price. We started the second half very well, then we committed mistakes again," rued Ishfaq.
"Al the three goals in the first half came from individual mistakes. I don't think we have to blame anyone else, we go back to the ground. Their striker (Valskis) is in form too," he added.
Kerala goalkeeper TP Rehenesh was guilty of handing the opening goal on a platter to Rafael Crivellaro and was very unsure with his decision-making throughout the match. When asked about Rehenesh's performance, Ishfaq challenged him to bounce back from his mistakes as soon as possible.
"He has been playing for the last 10 years. These are the moments when you have to pick yourselves up. Mistakes happen. How strongly you can come back is the difference between players who lose confidence forever (and those who dont). I hope he is mentally strong," he said.
Kochi has seen dwindling support with Kerala Blasters' season not going to plan, with the Men in Yellow now placed eighth on the table with 14 points from 15 matches. On Saturday, there were only 9000 fans in the stadium but Ishfaq was quick to appreciate the support.
"I appreciate the 9000 fans here. In Indian football, the 9000 fans (is something). Some of the teams don't get that crowd also, Manjappada is loyal, they stand behind you, I would love to thank them (fans). We will go back to the training ground and work."
