ISL 2017: Didn't expect Wes Brown to last 90 minutes, says Kerala Blasters coach Rene Meulensteen

Former Manchester United star Wes Brown may be 38-years-old, but he surprised one and all, especially Kerala Blasters head coach Rene Meulensteen with his ability to last the full 90 minutes of a match, during their ISL 2017 encounter against NorthEast United FC, on Friday.

What was even more surprising was that Brown, who had played most of his career as a centreback, lasted the entire duration of the match in a rather unfamiliar position – midfield.

Meulensteen had been former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov as a deep-lying midfielder for the first few matches. However, with the Bulgarian suffering an injury in his last game, the Kerala Blasters coach turned to Brown, to take over that role.

To the Dutchman’s surprise, not only did Brown excel in his role as a defensive midfielder in the 4-1-4-1 formation, but he also played the full 90 minutes, despite having just recovered from an injury.

"I didn’t expect Wes to see out the full 90 minutes. He did extremely well in the game,” said Meulensteen after the match. “His experience helped him to come back soon into the game, and he did extremely well in the role he played today."

Meulensteen, who had served as an assistant manager at Premier League giants Manchester United, stressed on the importance of Kerala Blasters’ 1-0 win over NEUFC, especially as they had suffered a 5-2 hammering at the hands of FC Goa in their previous game.

"We got a clean sheet in the game, which is important because we conceded five goals in the last game,” said Meulensteen. “That was a slap on the face, but we recovered this game to get a clean sheet.”

Kerala Blasters, by virtue of this 1-0 victory, managed to earn their first win of the season, as they moved on to six points on the ISL table. While it took them five matches to get this first victory, they will be hoping that this will give them the momentum to rise up the table to the top four spots.