Hughes delighted after leading Kerala Blasters to first win
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Aaron Hughes returned from national duty for Northern Ireland to play a pivotal role in Kerala Blasters FC’s first win of Hero Indian Super League 2016. The Blasters’ marquee player’s goal-line clearance to deny Sony Norde in the 69th minute kept his side’s lead intact as Kerala registered a 1-0 win against Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday. Hughes, who received the Maruti-Suzuki-Swift-Moment-of-the-Match award and completed three blocks as well as six clearances, spoke to indiansuperleague.com after the game and shared his thoughts. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
This was Kerala’s third home game this season but yours first, what was the experience like?
It was a fantastic experience, I think it always makes it better when you win the game and go away happy. Everyone had told me about the atmosphere and how good it is to play here. So I’m delighted I finally got here, and as I said to go away with the win.
Kerala were very dominant throughout the game. What are your thoughts on the game and how big is this win for you?
It’s a huge win since we have a few tough away games coming up. We knew we needed a good result tonight, and we spoke before the game about creating some momentum, creating a lot of pressure on the opposition, obviously getting the fans behind us and try and put as much pressure as possible. We tried to control the game as much as we could and it was nice tonight to get the goal and to top the game off.
What is your take on Kerala Blasters fans?
It’s fantastic, it’s constant noise. It’s really hard to hear each other on the pitch. You have to really shout when talking to each other. It is fantastic atmosphere and a great place to come and play. To get the win tonight and make everyone go home happy makes it even better.
How is this win going to boost the team’s morale?
It will be high, the spirit has been good anyway. We’ve had some good performances just without the results, so to get the win tonight is a big reward for a lot of hard work. So I’m sure the lads will be over the moon.
