ISL 2022-23: "This extra weapon you can use in many different situations" - Kerala Blasters Ivan Vukomanovic waxes lyrical about Ivan Kalyuzhnyi after East Bengal win

Kerala Blasters got their Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 campaign off to a winning start. They beat East Bengal 3-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi on Friday (October 7).

The match remained at 0-0 for 71 minutes before Harmanjot Khabra's brilliant looping ball set up Adrian Luna for the opener. Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, who came on as a second-half substitute, doubled Kerala Blasters' lead with a sublime run and an equally good finish.

Alex Lima thought he had brought East Bengal back into the game when he pulled one back in the 88th minute, but the hope was short-lived. Kalyuzhnyi pulled one more rabbit out of the hat, finding the back of the net with a stunning left-foot strike from outside the box following a corner situation.

Addressing the media after the game, Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic expressed his delight:

"We are happy with the result. We are happy with the three points, absolutely, because I think now, it's the first time in a while that we are starting with a victory, with a kind of good feeling."

He added:

"But we will never stop working, you know, correcting things talking to players, what kind of things they have to change."

Kerala Blasters Ukrainian midfielder Kalyuzhnyi stole the show, scoring two great goals after coming on as a substitute. Heaping praise on the star man of the evening, Vukomanovic hailed him as a resource that the Yellow Army lacked last season:

"I think that if we go back and speak about the fact that this year, we signed some new players with quality. Again, I think that this [a foreign central midfielder] is something that we didn't have last year and actually, this extra weapon you can use in many different situations."

He added:

"If you speak about Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, he is a great guy, a great human being. We're so glad that he arrived in India, in Kerala Blasters. He is a good technical, skillful player who can play in different positions and actually who can manage and master these kind of games."

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Vukomanovic lauds Kerala Blasters fans for their support

Vukomanovic also expressed his gratitude towards the fans for their support, which he felt was 'priceless'. He said:

"Absolutely. It was huge. It was a huge help. It's priceless. When you have this kind of support especially if you are giving everything on a pitch, actually these fans they can push you and you can do nothing about that."

He added:

"You have to give everything on a pitch, last drop of your sweat. When you keep believing in things you want, you show it. Personally, after the first goal, the atmosphere, I think they were pushing even harder. It can be really intimidating for away teams."

One Kerala Blasters player who perhaps did not have the best of nights was Sahal Abdul Samad. Vukomanovic, though, offered his support to the Indian international and pointed out how he was playing through the pain barrier:

"I'm a little bit sorry about Sahal because he got this bad injury, bad kick playing for the national team. He was going also like playing with the pain, a little bit. But anyway, he delivered the things we wanted. He's also the guy who needs to be consistent to play. He was doing things correct way."

The Serbian also had this to say about East Bengal:

"I think it East Bengal are a team that will show great quality this year. It's not the same team from last season. There is something new inside, there is some more quality. I think that they could be one of the surprises [of the season]."

Having got their season off to a winning start, Kerala Blasters will be looking to build on their momentum against ATK Mohun Bagan on October 16.