Kerala Blasters FC squandered their lead twice before succumbing to a 3-2 loss against Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Sunday. The result also ended their two-match win streak in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20, and leaves them seven points adrift of the top four with only five more league matches to go.

At the post-match press conference, the Blasters’ head coach, Eelco Schattorie expressed his frustration with the result and reiterated his displeasure about how the contest played out on the night. He said, “I take my job very seriously. Meaning, I work from morning till late in the evening to get my team in the best possible shape. It’s frustrating when matches end this way. There’s no need to analyse the result.”

While the result may not have gone in their favour, the Blasters faithful can take heart from their team’s performance, especially after going down to 10 men following Abdul Hakku’s sending off early in the second half. The Dutchman pointed to that as a positive for his side, although admitted that it was always going to be an uphill task against the numerical advantage Jamshedpur had.

He said, “I think with 10 men we still put a good show. We scored to make it 2-1. I didn’t have many options on the bench to change the way I wanted to change. But we still managed. The own goal was bad luck. But with ten men, it’s always difficult.”

Read the Match Report here.