Kerala Blasters FC succumbed to their first defeat under the management of David James in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18, as they went down 2 – 1 against Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Wednesday. After strikes from Jerry Mawhmingthanga and Ashim Biswas had put the hosts ahead, substitute Mark Sifneos pulled a goal back deep in injury time.

The result means that Kerala are rooted to the sixth spot in the league table and speaking at the post-match press conference was James himself. The Englishman, instead of repenting the loss, highlighted the positives from the game and lauded his players. “I think we finished the game stronger, granted they went into a 2 – 0 lead,” he stated. “I thought that even in defeat, we showed a magnificent effort. Never giving up, which is what I asked the players to do. Yes, the result wasn’t right, and we can’t be happy with the start. But you are not going to win every game. I am happy with the way we ended. We have got a tough game coming up in another few days. That’s the nature of the league; we have to get on with it.”

James also praised opponents Jamshedpur for their performance, adding that the league debutants were a much-improved lot since the start of the campaign. “I think Jamshedpur have shown in the last couple of matches that their game has changed from nil-nils to one-nils to goals being scored,” the 47-year-old inferred. “So, they were always going to be a threat. They have quality on their side. It was difficult for us. Conceding a goal in 22 seconds does not help the preparations for the match; something we’ll have to look into.”

Before concluding, the former Liverpool custodian also mentioned that the way his team finished the game, it would give them confidence for their next. “What I did see was an effort, a desire and a will to not lose and six minutes was not long enough to get us back in the match. But we’ll take confidence from the way we finished, going into the next game,” he ended.