ISL 7: Kibu Vicuna satisfied with Kerala Blasters' first win
Dec 28, 2020
Bambolim (Goa) [India], December 28 : Kerala Blasters FC secured a 2-0 victory over Hyderabad FC and coach Kibu Vicuna was pleased to finally get a win in the ongoing seventh season of Indian Super League (ISL).
Abdul Hakku's header (29') gave Kerala the lead in the first half before Jordan Murray (88') sealed three points for Vicuna's side.
The Kerala Blasters' coach Vicuna expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the players who were given a chance in the absence of seasoned trio of Costa Nhamoinesu, Bakary Kone, and Gary Hooper.
"They have different injuries and they were not ready to play tonight. But I am very happy with the performances of Abdul Hakku, Sandeep (Singh), and Jordan (Murray). They played very well," said Vicuna at the post-match presentation.
"I am satisfied because we played well against a team that is playing very well this season. We played a good match and we deserved to win tonight," he added.
Both sides fought neck-and-neck but Kerala grabbed the opener just before the half-hour mark through a set-piece. They won a corner and Facundo Pereyra whipped an inch-perfect cross for Hakku, who bagged his first ISL goal through a pin-point header.
"It was important (to press high) because Hyderabad is a team that plays well from behind. We pressed well and created some difficulties for Hyderabad especially because they have good players playing from behind," said Vicuna.
Revealing what he told his players at the break leading 1-0, the Kerala Blasters coach said: "At the half time, we spoke about what we have to do, but we had to score the second goal because Hyderabad is a team that has good strikers and at the beginning of the second half, we had some good chances but we managed to score at the end of the game [in the 88th minute]. I think we deserved the win tonight."
Kerala Blasters will now lock horns with Mumbai City FC on January 2.
