Kerala Blasters FC scored two late goals to secure a point against Odisha FC in their final Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 encounter at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Sunday. In a topsy-turvy game, Odisha were leading 4-2 until the 80^th minute but Kerala found a way back courtesy two Bartholomew Ogbeche penalties in the final 10 minutes plus added time.

Speaking at a post-match interview, Kerala head coach Eelco Schattorie summed up his team’s season and noted, “We played with a different line up for 17-18 games this season because of recurring injuries. It made things difficult. But I think I brought the best out of what we had, (given the circumstances). We had some good and some bad games. Unfortunately, I had to miss a few games due to suspension as well. We lost to Chennaiyin and that was a big blow for me. Overall, the players worked very hard and gave the supporters something to cheer for.”        

Taking note of the development of young Indian players this season, the Dutchman stated, “You can see the quality of the Indian players going up. Football development is there so that’s a good thing. I am happy they are going to play more games which will teach them how to tackle pressure and help their development. We need to keep working with the youngsters to help in their progress. It is a process; we need to help them read the game. The skills and technical aspects are there but the tactical side of the game is something the coaches need to work on.”

Three of Kerala’s four wins this season have come against ATK (a double) and Bengaluru FC – both top four sides. Asked about the phenomenon, Schattorie noted, “We were lucky that we had many of the foreigners available to us when we played the bigger clubs like ATK FC and Bengaluru FC. The result always depends on the availability of the players.”

“I want to bring a brand of football that is attacking, but this is not always possible. We need to see what is available. Unfortunately, we could not finish it off this season but there were patches where we outplayed the other teams with good football, and I will try to achieve that in the next season,” he added

Read the Match Report here.