Ishfaq Ahmed scored the opener for Kerala Blasters FC in the first leg of their semi-final clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, rounding off a flowing team move with a superb finish. The goal set Kerala on their way to a 3-0 win over Chennaiyin FC in the ‘South Indian derby’, establishing a solid first-leg lead in their semi-final ahead of the reverse fixture in Chennai on Tuesday. “We’ve had mixed performances earlier, but now I think we play when it matters. We’ve had a good outing here, and we hope to have a good performance in the away game also,” said Ahmed as he spoke to indiansuperleague.com in a post-match exclusive.The Kashmiri midfielder, whose thunderous strike from inside the box was his first Hero Indian Super League goal, gave credit to the fans for his goal. “It’s amazing as you can see I love the atmosphere here. There’s nothing better than this and I thank God that I got the start and the goal. We couldn’t hear anything on the pitch and I think the fans deserve this performance from us because it’s all thanks to them,” exclaimed Ahmed.When asked if the dominant win today will give them the edge over Chennai next Tuesday, Ishfaq said, “Yes, it will but Chennai is a very strong team and I still think that we can’t take anything for granted. We have to go at them just as we did today and give our best shot.”The win was arguably Kerala’s best performance in the ISL thus far, and Ahmed praised his whole team, along with the coaching staff, for the stellar display. “I think it’s just the motivation of being in a semifinal. You’re just two games away from the final. I just think it’s been an amazing effort from the guys, the coaching staff and everyone,” declared the former Mohun Bagan man.
