Kerala Blasters FC head coach Mikael Stahre admitted the 2-1 defeat against Punjab FC is a difficult pill to swallow. The Yellow Tuskers lost their opening match of the Indian Super League season while playing at their home venue of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.

Punjab FC captain Luka Majcen scored through a spot kick in the 88th minute of the game. However, subsititute Jesus Jimenez scored the equalizer for Kerala Blasters in injury time.

But there was more late drama as Filip Mrzljak scored the winning goal after Luka Majcen’s assist to give all three points to his team.

Speaking on Pritam Kotal’s role in the team, Mikael Stahre said in the post-match press conference, “The cross (from Pritam Kotal) itself looked good, but in football, it’s not just about attacking – defending is just as important. In this game, over two halves and extra time, we hardly conceded any chances at all. The team was really solid. As for Pritam (Kotal), he’s a very good player who can play in multiple positions, but right now, I consider him as a defender,” Stahre stated in the post-match press conference.

Speaking on his team’s performance in the first half, Stahre revealed he made a few changes at halftime after Punjab FC looked threatening.

“It was an even game in the first 15-20 minutes. I think at the end of the first half, Punjab FC took the grip of the game but we hardly considered any chances at all, just some set pieces in general were nothing to worry about but we expected to do much better with the ball, and that’s why I made changes at halftime,” he added.

Stahre admitted they were not good enough in key moments of the game despite making all the substitutions.

“We brought in Jesus (Jimenez) to help us keep possession better. We also subbed out Aimen, moving Noah (Sadaoui) to the left, and Vibin (Mohanan) came in. I must say, despite Vibin being injured since our camp in Thailand, this was his first game back, and he looked really sharp,” he said.

“Defensively, we were solid overall, but in those key moments, we weren’t good enough. We have to attack with more players, have more passers, be more precise and technical, and, ultimately, more effective. I’m positive, but right now, it’s really really painful to handle this defeat. But we will bounce back, but it’s really painful to handle this moment,” Stahre opined.

Kerala Blasters FC will next take on East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.