The opening match of the 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) concluded with Kerala Blasters FC taking home all three points against ATK at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday. A goal apiece from debutants Matej Poplatnik and Slavisa Stojanovic in the second half sealed the victory for the Blasters, whereas ATK failed to get their act together in the final third.

David James, Kerala’s head coach, was present at the post-match press conference to take questions from the media and started off by expressing his delight with the victory. “I was slightly frustrated in the first half. We played a style of football which we did not intend to employ, but the second half was much much better. I was impressed with the wing backs but more importantly with the discipline and the commitment levels of all the players. I thought we were the better team. The conditions seemed to get hotter, but it was ultimately a very good performance.”

When asked about the turning point of the match, James pointed out the substitution of CK Vineeth, which really shifted the tie in Kerala’s favour. “The team was so dominant in the first half, but we could have done better which was the most frustrating part. I had a conversation with the players at half-time just to put them back on track. CK’s substitution in the second half changed things for us. What he did was a positive contribution to our game.”

Speaking on the opponents, the Englishman admitted that he was surprised that Kalu Uche did not start the tie. “With the transfers and the number of quality players they have brought in, it was difficult to gauge their starting line-up. The surprise if anything was that Uche didn’t start. I was just very happy with the way we approached the game. I was happy with what we did at the end. When we got it right, we looked good.”

From ATK’s end, head coach Steve Coppell answered the media’s questions. The Englishman seemed vividly disappointed with the result but admitted that Kerala were the better team on the night. “They were better on the day, make no mistake about that. I’ll be the first one to admit it. We couldn’t really get any penetration. We were never really successful in set pieces also. We have got an awful lot of work to do to bring out the best from the players we have.”

When asked about Uche’s exclusion from the starting eleven, Coppell said that he didn’t want to rush him back into the team but felt that the team needed his presence during the second half. “He had been travelling all night. We really didn’t want to use him. Just towards the end, we thought we could use his steadying influence, just before they scored.”

Read the match report here.