Bengaluru FC put in an impressive performance against Kerala Blasters FC to claim a narrow 2-1 victory at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Monday. The Blues continued their unbeaten start to the campaign, and they now top the Hero ISL table with 13 points from a possible 15. The Blasters were undefeated going into the fixture, but Nikola Krcmarevic’s 81st-minute own-goal proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night.

Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat began his post-match interaction with the media by expressing his happiness in regard to his team’s performance. “About the performance, I am very happy with the players. I think they are doing a wonderful job and we fought for the three points under difficult circumstances in the game. We got the three points. As a coach, you demand these things from the players and you have to be satisfied,” he said.

Going into the match, Cuadrat had said that he didn’t consider his side as the favourites this season. The media asked the Spaniard if he had changed his opinion considering their recent form, to which he replied, “No, I have not. Nothing is done yet. We have to work for the playoffs and there’s a long way for the playoff. We have six games after the break, just in two weeks. So, that’s going to demand a lot of energy. Of course, I’m happy with the work that the players are doing until now, but we are just at the starting of the season, so we have to keep doing that.”

“We have a good dynamic, that’s true. But we are going to miss some players for the national team and we are not going to be together in training. So, we have to try to rebuild a good dynamic after the break,” he added.

Cuadrat’s counterpart, Kerala head coach David James, started off his post-match press conference by voicing his opinion about the match. “Once we got back into a game, it was a very good team. It was two teams desperately trying to beat each other in a way a football match should be. Bengaluru are a very good side and I thought we played very well against them for the majority of the game. For one reason or another, we picked up a couple of quick injuries and the game sort of drifted away from us,” James opined.

He also claimed he wasn't too concerned with the lack of wins this season because his objective is to build a long-term project with Kerala. “When I was brought in January, this was not a one season wonder type thing. I wasn’t told that I have to win the Hero ISL this season, it was a three-year game plan for progression and development. I’m unhappy with the results, no, because the performances have been good. I don’t think I’ve sat here after any match and said that we’ve played badly. At spells, we could’ve done better but that’s football and life in the sense,” he said.

Click here to view match report.