"We were absolutely lost," says Punjab FC's Staikos Vergetis after loss to Kerala Blasters
Dec 15, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 15 : Following Punjab FC's 1-0 defeat against Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday, the home side's head coach Staikos Vergetis said that they had no concentration on the tactical planning and were absolutely lost in the game.
"I believe that in the first half, we had control over Kerala Blasters FC. We succeeded in keeping the opponent team far away from our post. In the second half, the first 12-15 minutes, Kerala Blasters FC came inside (our box), increasing their performance a lot, and we were lost in the field at all. We had no concentration on the tactical planning of the tasks that we had and the roles that we had to play on the field. We were absolutely lost," Vergetis said at the post-match press conference as quoted by ISL's official website.
He added that they helped the Kerala-based side to be more attacking as the home side had more space in their defensive lineup.
"I prefer to say that after the goal that we received and the changes that we were obligated to make, we balanced the game. But we made the team more offensive, and we had open space in our backs in the transition. Kerala Blasters FC had their good moments in the offensive transition to make the second goal. But we are forced to do this in case of the offensive risk to draw the game," he added.
He accepted that his players were not up to the mark with the ball against Kerala Blasters FC. He further added that they couldn't attack more since they lost many second balls.
"We made some substitutes fast, and we balanced the game again, searching for one goal until the last second that never came. I think that we did not have a good performance today. Most of our players, especially with the ball, were very bad. We lost many balls, and we lost many second balls. That's why we could not make as many attacks as we hoped that we could," he concluded.
Following the defeat on Thursday, Punjab FC are yet to clinch a win in the ongoing season of the ISL. They currently stand in the second last place on the standings with five points. In their upcoming match, Vergetis' side will lock horns against Chennaiyin FC on Monday in New Delhi.
