Kerala Blasters FC won their first away match of Hero Indian Super League 2016 after coming from behind in spectacular fashion against FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Monday. The Gaurs took the lead in the 24th minute through Julio Cesar before goals from Mohammed Rafi and Kervens Belfort made it 2-1 in the Blasters’ favour.Kerala head coach Steve Coppell expressed his delight at the post-match press conference. “Well any kind of win pleases me and I said before the game the league is very tight and to come here and pick up a victory in the second game of a four-game away spell, it means a lot to not just me but the players as well. We are very grateful to get the three points in the manner we did and I think we played really well,” he said.Coppell added: “I think we got in a lot of attacking play. I was pleased that we kept going and didn’t lose our shape in the game and the way we wanted to play and I think all the work that Goa did in the first half cost them in the second half as Goa had only three days to recover from their previous game and working so hard in the first made the second half difficult for them but we are glad with getting the three points and now we go on to Chennai.”Lucio came on at the start of the second half replacing Joffre after Zico’s men had taken a 1-0 lead going into the break. Commenting on if the change had any effect on FC Goa and helped the Blasters make a comeback, Coppell said: “I don’t think that has anything to do with Lucio. In the first half we were threatening to score goals, we got a lot of crosses, situations which were promising and Rafique broke well going wide and a terrific cross coming in and Rafi does what Rafi does as he is always there and that gave us motivation to do well and something to play for and Belfort’s goal was amazing.”The only blemish on a good night’s work for Kerala was the withdrawal of Michael Chopra due to injury late in the game. While Coppell did express his concern over Chopra’s injury, he couldn’t confirm the severity of his injury. “It’s thigh strain we think. He will have an MRI tomorrow to see how bad it is. Hopefully it is not that bad. As you say he has been an important part of our play, he links the game, he understands the game. He is a man of great experience so we want him fit, we want him to be playing and not sit on the sidelines,” the 61-year-old said.Cedric Hengbart, who has been a rock at the back for Kerala this year, also accompanied Coppell to the press conference. When asked about his partnership with skipper Aaron Hughes this season that has seen them become one of the league’s tightest defence, Hengbart said: “Yes it was a very difficult game and it is easy with Aaron because he is very intelligent and smart so we try to keep our focus on the match.”With their win, Kerala climbed to fifth in the standings gathering eight points from six matches.
