Odisha FC played out a goalless draw against Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday. It was the first clean sheet in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 for both sides in what was an injury-marred contest that saw the teams struggle to create chances.

While speaking to indiansuperleague.com in an exclusive interview after the match, Narayan Das opened up about the hard-earned clean sheet as well as the injury to striker Aridane Santana. Here are the excerpts.

Odisha have scored in their last three matches. How big a loss was Aridane’s injury to you guys?

Our team’s goal scoring chances definitely reduced after he (Aridane) was side-lined. The shape of the team broke down after he left the pitch. But no problem, we have good players in the reserves as well. We will try to play better as a team and do well in the next match.

How important is this clean sheet for your defence?

We are happy to have kept a clean sheet today. We have been trying to keep the defence compact, yet we weren’t able to keep a clean sheet. It’s a good feeling, but we are sad to have not earned all three points.

What are your plans during the international break?

The coach has given us three-four days off for recovery. Once we’re back from the break, we need to start preparing for the next match against ATK.

Read the Match Report here.