ISL 7: Kerala assistant coach rues missed chances after goalless draw against Jamshedpur
Jan 28, 2021
Bambolim (Goa)[India], January 28 : Kerala Blasters dominated the proceedings against Jamshedpur FC on Wednesday but still played out a goalless draw, and assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed insisted that his team should have secured the win given the number of chances that they created.
Kerala, the superior team in the last match, created more chances than Jamshedpur but lacked the cutting edge in the final third, which denied them their fourth win of the ongoing seventh season of the Indian Super League (ISL).
"We created enough chances, and we should have converted them. We have to blame ourselves. We should have taken our chances and we should have scored. This is why we feel like we should have the three points," Ishfaq said at the post-match press conference.
In the absence of head coach Kibu Vicuna, Ishfaq looked after the Kerala-based side but was frustrated with his team not being able to score a single goal although he refused to blame his players.
"On the touchline, it's always frustrating when you see your team playing according to the plan and then creating those opportunities and not scoring," said Ishfaq.
"All we can do is keep encouraging the players and hope that they score. We will not blame the players, it was just not our day," he added.
Ishfaq went on to praise the star of the match, Sahal Abdul Samad, and admitted that the side missed the services of Rahul KP and Jeakson Singh.
"Sahal is a fantastic player for us. He has brought in a defensive aspect to his game by tracking back and helping the defence. We are very pleased with him," he said.
"If they (Rahul, Jeakson) are good players we will definitely miss them. We have been working on the training ground not to give away easy goals. We have been doing well in defence recently," he added.
Kerala Blasters will face ATK Mohun Bagan in their next encounter on Sunday.
