Odisha FC finally registered their first win in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 after beating Kerala Blasters FC 4-2 at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Thursday. The Bhubaneswar-based club came back from a goal down to secure the morale-boosting victory, with Diego Mauricio scoring a brace. Odisha head coach Stuart Baxter was understandably overjoyed.

“I am very pleased for the players. They have been excellent and they have never folded. Honestly, this win wasn't a surprise for me. We changed the way we were going to play. Giving away a goal and then totally dominating the next 75 minutes of the game, it was an awesome performance,” Baxter said at the post-match press conference.

Baxter hopes that his players can build on this performance and register more wins in the upcoming matches. “We have shown that potential in almost every game but in the beginning, it was very sporadic. We made too many mistakes. We gave away silly goals which made the hill too big to climb. I'm hoping (that the win) turns out to be the catalyst.

“This is the challenge for the players and hopefully we can go on a better run. The win gives them a huge boost. It will give them more belief. Certainly, we will be more confident in our own ability,” said Baxter.

Watch Stuart Baxter's Post-Match Press conference here:

Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters head coach Kibu Vicuna was apologetic to Kerala fans following the defeat. “First, I want to apologize to all the fans of Kerala Blasters. We didn't play a good match. We committed too many mistakes. This is not the team that we want to see,” he said.

Vicuna assessed the game and pinpointed where exactly his team lost the plot after going ahead early. “We started well and the game was even but it completely changed after the second goal. We didn't react well and didn't start the second half well. When we concede four goals, it’s almost impossible to get the three points. We will analyse the match but it has been a tough match for us,” he said.

However, the Spaniard was willing to shrug off the disappointment and bounce back strong against Jamshedpur in the next assignment. “The good thing is that now we have a game on Sunday. We have to react because we are Kerala Blasters and we have to focus on the next game and get the three points against Jamshedpur on Sunday,” said Vicuna.

Watch Kibu Vicuna's Post-Match Press conference here: