"I'm really proud of the boys" - Kerala Blasters boss Ivan Vukomanovic expresses delight after win over Bengaluru FC in ISL 2022-23

Kerala Blasters earned a 3-2 victory over Bengaluru FC in their ninth match of the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season on Sunday (December 11).

Bengaluru FC took the lead against the run of play 12 minutes of the match, with Sunil Chhetri scoring a penalty. It took Kerala Blasters just 13 minutes to pull level, though, courtesy of a goal from Marko Leskovic.

The Yellow Army continued to push Simon Grayson's men back and eventually reaped the rewards for their efforts. Dimitrios Diamantakos continued his goalscoring streak as he put the Kerala Blasters ahead with a tap-in in the dying minutes of the first half.

Apostolos Giannou, who came on as a substitute for Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, doubled the lead for the Kerala Blasters, scoring his first ISL goal in the 70th minute. Javi Hernandez reduced the goal deficit to just one for Bengaluru FC, setting the game up for a tense climax, but the hosts held on.

Kerala Blasters have now won five matches on the trot and have gone fourth in the ISL table.

The fact that they emerged victorious against their South Indian rivals also adds to the joy, according to Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic. He told a press conference:

"Absolutely [satisfying] when you see all the things in the previous days about the Southern Derby, what it means to both the teams, speaking about Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru.

"Of course, you always want to play good games in derbies and you want to to win those games and collect points. From that point of view, of course, we are happy because we got that fifth win in a row."

The Serbian tactician added:

"Like I mentioned the previous day, this period is where actually you have to be focused, organized, and collect points. Otherwise, you drop your position, your drop points, and then you lose self-confidence, you lose everything and then later, you start struggling for those points to achieve play-offs."

The Kerala Blasters gaffer also tipped his hat to Bengaluru FC, who he thinks are a good team despite being placed ninth in the table, saying:

"For us, today, it was obvious and important to get those three points. We wanted to stay among the top teams up there in the rankings. We knew that it will be a very difficult game because I think that Bengaluru don't deserve to be where they are now.

"It's a great team. They have good players, individual quality. Many of them, they can decide the game on their own, and we knew that against this team we have to be well organized, well prepared, physically ready to run, to defend."

Vukomanovic went on to express his delight at seeing Kerala Blasters players execute the game plan well. He explained:

"Even in the first half, we wanted to press them high, play between the lines, have these overlapping [runs] from the second line with our full-backs Nishu [Kumar] and Sandeep [Singh]. All the other guys, like Jeakson [Singh], they were running a lot through the middle and creating those chances.

"Happy with the things that we were practicing. As a coach, it makes you happy because you see the things that you try to explore in a training session and speaking about the second goal, that was the case."

The Kerala Blasters boss then revealed that he was thrilled to see Giannou grab his first goal on Indian soil, saying:

"Then, of course, in the second half, it was a little bit difficult when they changed the formation. We knew that we had to defend a little bit more. We decided to drop down a bit to stay focused, compact, not allowing them to go between the lines, even that was very difficult there.

"I repeat they're a good team, but the boys were good. We managed to score the third goal as well with fresh legs from Giannou when he came in. I'm very happy for him as well. He's coming, also, after a difficult period."

He added:

"In the end, we are happy. Three points is the the most important again. If it's in the Southern Derby, then it's even more. So, we are happy for the fans, we're happy for everybody who came around today in this weather, to support us. Also happy for our owner because we know that a victory against Bengaluru means a lot to him."

Kerala Blasters managed to bounce back after going behind in the early minutes of the game. Vukomanovic credits his players' mentality and physicality for it:

"First of all, since we started, we have this... first mutual respect, then the thing is they know football is physical work. It's physical, it's exhausting, and sometimes we have to be honest.

"In this league, we have to fight every game for every point because we cannot afford to be casual. We cannot afford to be relaxed because we know, in this league, anybody can be anybody. I have repeated that, I think, a thousand times already."

The former Standard Liege manager added:

"Even after the penalty - I still haven't seen the the videos - but whatever, even after those situations, you have to be mentally strong, physically strong, to continue working the things that you want to actually to show and with that mental strength and physical power that we have.

"So, we managed to get that result at half-time. After that, again, it was exhausting. Then in the weather like it was today, with the pitch, you have to run a lot, you have to fight a lot.

"I'm really proud of the boys, how they managed today to get that game. With some fresh legs, we tried to change certain things, but in the end, again, we are happy because now it's about collecting points."

Kerala Blasters are now well-placed to book a spot in the play-offs. Vukomanovic, though, believes there is still a lot of room for improvement for his Kerala Blasters team. He said:

"Well, there are many things [to improve] because... honestly, in this league, many teams and many coaches, they're doing a great job. That's a fact. We have a great group of coaches in this league.

"The fact that many times you have to deal with individual mistakes and it comes to a moment, to a second where actually during the practise session, you are practising certain options and you provide certain options to the boys [as to] how they can solve some problems during the game."

The Serbian stressed that individual mistakes are something his team needs to avoid making, saying:

"When it happens during the game, it's up to them. It's one second. It's what we call decision-making. What we see very often, what I've witnessed in the last one year and a half since I arrived, there are many games where we can see many individual mistakes which result in conceding goals."

"If, as a team, you can reduce those mistakes and if you stay focused, not allowing your opponents to explore those mistakes, then you can have good results. So, as any other team, we also have to be very focused on those things to improve those things, not allowing our opponents to use our mistakes because very often, these mistakes, they happen."

Vukomanovic, though, understands that making mistakes is part of a young player's development. He elucidated:

"There are many young players starting their careers in the ISL. It's not easy. From the physical side, it's not easy, it's a physical job. From the mental side, you have to understand that for one boy, who is young and starting his football career, coming just like this and playing in front of 35,000-40,000 people, there are many things happening in the head.

"So these kinds of things, as a coach, I always like to support those guys. Doesn't matter, making mistakes is a part of the game. It means that later we analyze and say 'Next time it must not happen' because that is the way how the players will learn."

The Kerala Blasters coach added:

"This is the learning process. As a player, 20 years ago, I was the same. You make mistakes, later on you say it must not happen again and this is the way of improvement. The only way.

"Working hard, repeating those things and not allowing those mistakes to happen again, and then you can hope for the points and the play-offs."

Asked if he had started dreaming of Kerala Blasters securing a play-off spot and going beyond, Vukomanovic replied:

"As a coach, as a player, you always dream. If you don't have a dream, then you are in the wrong place. Of course, you dream about those things. You think about those things.

"Having now had this fifth win in a row, it has never happened in the history of the club, it shows us the positivity and the way how we can continue further on."

He went on to stress that Kerala Blasters will now turn their attention towards their remaining two games in December, saying:

"Now, with the two games [remaining in December, it's about] finding a strategy, how you want to play against those opponents. The next one is against Chennaiyin, later on against Odisha.

"These things you have to go through. This is a part of the season, we have to do that, we cannot avoid those things and let's hope for the best. We;re going to prepare."

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Manager Ivan Vukomanovic thanks Kerala Blasters fans

The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi was not as packed as it usually is, with heavy rainfall limiting the total attendance to just under 26,000. However, those present certainly proved to be the 12th man for Kerala Blasters.

Asked how much of an advantage the fans proved to be, Vukomanovic said:

"Huge. I think that the support of Manjappada and everybody who arrived today in the stands today was huge. When I was in the dressing room, talking to the boys, they appreciated it a lot and they enjoy playing in front of those fans.

"When we saw, before the game, the stand of Manjappada, I was thinking even if it's raining, the stands where they are it will be dry because it was full and I liked it."

He concluded:

"It's an enormous pleasure to play for those fans because this gives us force, this gives us power to fly on the pitch and that's how the boys actually show that quality.

"They fight for every ball because they know that... from our strategy as well, we want to fight for that logo, we want to fight for them [the fans] because they deserve to see us playing like this."

Kerala Blasters will face Chennaiyin FC in their next ISL 2022-23 match on December 19.