It was a déjà vu feeling for everyone involved with Kerala Blasters last night as they once again lost to Atletico De Kolkata in the finals of the Indian Super League. Kerala Blasters had a decent start to the game as Mohammed Rafi headed in a goal in the 38th minute but they let Kolkata get back into the game just before half time as Kolkata's Portuguese defender Henrique Sereno headed in the equaliser.
Even during the penalty shootout, Kerala Blasters started off well, and Antonio German and Belfort scored for Kerala as Iain Hume missed the first spot kick for Kolkata. Kerala's third penalty was missed by N'Doye as Kolkata scored all their other spot kicks. The decider was between Cedric Hengbart, who has been a stand out player for Kerala this season, and Jewel Raja. The veteran French defender fired straight down the middle as Debjit saved it with his legs, following which Jewel Raja kept his cool and scored to stun the home crowd.
Despite losing the finals, Kerala Blasters coach Steve Coppell said his side didn't taste defeat per se, as the game was tied 1-1 after extra time. He mentioned that a key reason as to why his team lost was that they did not have enough time to recover after their second leg semifinals victory over Delhi.
"We didn't lose today to be honest. We got to the final on penalties and now we've lost it on penalties. It's cruel. I would like to congratulate Kolkata — they've been strong throughout the season," Goal.com quoted the Kerala Blasters coach as saying.
"The game was even and anybody could've won. Both teams looked tired. From our point of view, we've played three games in seven days. We had to travel to Delhi when we shouldn't have had to. I don't want to sound like sour grapes here. After the game in Delhi, we couldn't get any flights out and had to stay there for a day.
"We couldn't recover properly. Next day, we had to fly back to Kochi as five different groups. The players started flying back at 5 am and the last batch of players got to Kochi at 8 pm. So, in terms of our preparations, the players were magnificent. I can only compliment them for having given so much."
Steve Coppell was also asked if he would like to continue to manage the Kerala Blasters in the next season and he suggested that the club needs to be better prepared in the future, which might not bring success immediately but will bring stability.
"I think now (after a bad result) is not the time to talk about the future. I want to go home and see my mother. It's been a long time and maybe after Christmas and New Year, we'll see where we are at. There's a lot to be done for this club to reward its fans. We've talked about the future (not necessarily me) — about the club's future. The ownership will make sure that the club will be better prepared next time. It doesn't guarantee success but we'll learn lessons from this" the former Manchester City boss was quoted as saying.
