ISL 2024-25: Mikael Stahre feels his team ‘deserved to win’ after loss against Mohun Bagan Super Giant

Kerala Blasters FC head coach Mikael Stahre reckons his team deserved to win after a 3-2 loss against Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata in the ongoing Indian Super League on Saturday.

Jamie Maclaren scored in the 33rd minute to put the home team in front. However, the Yellow Tuskers took a 2-1 lead after Jesus Jimenez and Drincic found the back of the net in the second half.

With only 13 minutes remaining in the match, it seemed the visitors would take away all three points but any hopes of that happening were extinguished by Jason Cummings and Alberto Rodriguez as the Mariners bounced back in style.

“Mohun Bagan Super Giant are a good team, and of course, they have quality players, but that is the overview of the game. I think we deserved to win, but obviously, they have quality players. When they play at home, they have confidence here, but they know how we approached it and how we started the game. Unfortunately, we fell behind by one goal, but also, look at how we approached the second half,” Stahre said at the post-match press conference.

“We scored to make it 1-1 early (in the second half) and then went 2-1 up. They have quality players, that’s for sure, but considering how we approached the game, how we kept the ball, how we maintained the structure, how we worked—I think we deserved at least one point and most likely the three points. But we are in this tough situation, so right now, we have to fight even harder to win games. That’s the reality,” he added further.

The Swedish head coach was pleased with the effort, which his players gave on the pitch despite the loss.

“They put some pressure in the dying minutes. And of course, like, the ball was bouncing back and forth and luckily, the centre-back (Alberto Rodriguez) hit it perfectly. I mean, if you hit the ball ten times in that situation, probably seven times it goes into the backyard, sometimes it hits the goalkeeper, but now, unluckily for us, he scored a fantastic goal.

“I can’t right now say what we did wrong in that moment. Sometimes you have tough luck and that was it. But, you know, of course, we conceded too many goals, but today we played really well. I’m really proud of the team actually,” he said.

Kerala Blasters FC will next take on Mohammedan SC on 22nd December at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi.