Kerala Blasters FC host Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi for Match 5 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20. The Blasters won their first match of the season against ATK and will look to continue the momentum against the Islanders.

Prior to the fixture, indiansuperleague.com caught up with Kerala youngster Jeakson Singh for an exclusive chat. Here are the excerpts:

On the mood in Kerala Blasters FC camp ahead of the second match?

We’re just coming from our first home victory, we were one-nil down and we came back. So, to win it 2-1 in the end, it boosted our confidence a lot and obviously, our 12th man (the fans) will be with us to support the team whenever we need them. We are ready for any challenges against Mumbai City FC. 

On winning the ISL Emerging Player award in the match against ATK.

I was excited for the match and a little bit nervous too because I knew I was going to play against a very strong, attacking team with good strikers. And I knew that I was going to play in front of a huge crowd. The head coach (Eelco Schattorie) and all the senior players were with me. They gave me confidence, they told me ‘don’t get nervous, you can do it, we believe in you.’ Then I got a bit of confidence. I could’ve done much better, but I did ok. I was lucky to get the award on my debut.

Are you aiming to win the Emerging Player of the Season award?

Definitely, if these awards come to me, it is going to be good for me. It is going to give me a boost for the upcoming season. But for now, I’m not focusing on these individual awards, I want to focus more on the team, play together and win the (Hero ISL) title.

On your journey from being India’s first goal scorer in the FIFA U-17 World Cup to making your Hero ISL debut.

The FIFA World Cup (Under-17) was an unbelievable experience for me. After that, the AIFF (All India Football Federation) gave us a good platform to get the experience and to play against senior teams by including us in the Indian Arrows team. I was there for two seasons, then I came to Kerala Blasters FC. I’m very lucky to be here because, from the beginning, I always wanted to play in front of lots of fans and I’m looking forward to this season.

Read the Match Preview here.