Kerala Blasters FC kept their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 alive after beating NorthEast United FC 1 – 0 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday. Wes Brown’s first-half header sealed the deal for last year’s finalist who are now just a point adrift of the playoff spots.

Addressing the media during the post-match presser was Kerala’s head coach David James. The Englishman was delighted with his side’s winner. “We scored a very good goal from a set-play which was the first goal from a defender, which is nice because the practice is working,” he stated.

He then lauded the Highlanders for their performance and admitted that his team’s performance was not up to the mark. “I think what was nice to see was NorthEast giving everything and we had to work hard. It’s not the best we have played this season by a long stretch. We have played better and lost. But in football, it’s the result that counts. Tonight, was one of those performances where we were happy with the win and not overly happy with the performance,” James said.

The 47-year-old, however, was happy to have kept a clean sheet and that his full squad remains fit. “We were in for a very tough game and I expected us to concede a goal as well as expected us to score,” he revealed. “So, to get a clean sheet is fantastic. Obviously a 0 – 0 would not work. So, it was good we made a lot of changes. I had a full squad to choose from, which is the first time it has happened since I was here.”

Before concluding, he highlighted Kerala’s plans going forward. “The draw against ATK was not in the plan,” James said. “We had set a goal of six wins out of six. But going forward, our goal remains the same. We have to win both our remaining fixtures. We are also hoping to improve our goal difference a bit more than we did today.”