Sahal Abdul Samad: This win is for the fans
Kerala Blasters FC notched up only their second win of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 after a comprehensive 3-0 win over rivals Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday.


Kerala Blasters FC notched up only their second win of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 after a comprehensive 3-0 win over rivals Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday. Matej Poplatnik scored a brace to put Kerala in the driving seat and young midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad scored his first Hero ISL goal to end the team's 14-match winless run.
After the encounter, indiansuperleague.com caught up with both of Kerala's goal scorers for a post-match interview. Here are the excerpts.
Sahal Abdul Samad
Thoughts on your first home win of the season.
We are very happy about this. It was a long winless streak as we won after 14 matches. This win is definitely for our fans, the Manjappada.
Thoughts on your goal and your India Under-23 call-up.
First of all, I’m very happy about my goal and dedicate my goal to my family and this win to the fans. About the Under-23 call-up, I have to prove a lot and yeah, I’ll keep working.
Matej Poplatnik
Thoughts on your two goals.
First of all, I would like to say thank you to my teammates, the staff and all Kerala Blasters FC fans because without them, I couldn’t have scored. For example, Slav (Slavisa Stojanovic) passed me the ball for the goal. Yes, my job is to score and finally, I scored two. So, I’m happy.
What has changed under head coach Nelo Vingada?
Almost everything. He gives us confidence, he works with us. Especially for me as a striker, I need this because I can’t do it without the confidence. I need to see the coach trusts me and the result is here. I think the fans can see what he has done with us.
Read the match report here.