Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic feels the main reason for their defeat against ATK Mohan Bagan was the second yellow card to Rahul KP. The Tuskers suffered a 2-1 loss against the Mariners at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata on Saturday.
Rahul brought down Ashique Kuruniyan well inside his own half and the referee gave him a second yellow card in the 64th minute.
Meanwhile, Dimitrios Diamantakos continued his good show in the tournament as he scored in the 16th minute of the game. This was the 10th goal for the Greek player in the league.
However, the home team was quick to bounce back as Carl McHugh equalized after eight minutes. The Irish player then scored his second of the night as he found the back of the net in the 71st minute.
“The main reason for the defeat was the second yellow card (to Rahul KP). I think we were good in the game, we managed the game in the correct way, and we had control of the game. And when you get the second yellow card, for the first few seconds you’re unbalanced and we conceded the second goal, that was the difference. In total, we had a good game. When you play these kinds of games, it goes about one small detail. All the games in the playoffs would depend on small details and that one instance made the difference today. We’re sorry about the loss, we wanted a positive result but that was not the case,” Vukomanovic said in the official post-match press conference.
Kerala Blasters had already qualified for the playoff stages. The Yellow Army had also made it to the playoff in the previous season. The Serbian added that the team was preparing to qualify for the last six in the tournament.
“We prepare for the playoffs in the best possible way. Like last season, nobody expected us to be in the playoffs so it’s the same this year. We have our way of preparing for the games and doing things our own way and you try to end the season with the highest rank possible. There are many good teams fighting for the playoffs. When you play in the playoffs, be it home or away, it goes about playing a strong game, a strong opponent and one small detail so we have to be ready for it. We analyze for the next game and we continue,” Vukomanovic said.
Kerala Blasters FC will play their last league stage match against defending champions Hyderabad FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi on Sunday.
