Kerala Blasters FC player-head coach David James cut a dejected figure after his side were handed a 3-0 defeat against FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. With the defeat, his side slip to fourth position while Goa leapfrog them into third. He credited the home side on a good, strong match at the post-match press conference. “Fair play to Goa. They maintained momentum and the pressure all through the match and they justified their good run of form at the moment. I don’t think we ever really got started, which is very disappointing,” the Englishman said.The importance of maintaining momentum and staying in the top four will be a priority for the sides in the top half of the table as the end of the league phase approaches. However, James was not overly concerned about the setback in Goa, choosing to look forward to the remaining three games on Kerala’s schedule, all of which are at home. “The plan that we had was to win all our home games. Of course we wanted to win today. We set out to win, we have the squad to do so but losing away from home is not something I am overly worried about. The way we lost is what I am unhappy about. I did not plan on winning the away games, but I was looking for at least a draw,” the veteran goalkeeper said.With three more home games for the south Indian side, they will be looking to win all three and cement their place in the top half of the league. Despite the disappointing result, James noted that he was happy about where his team are in the league and what they’ve achieved so far in the tournament.Midway through the second half, the ex-Liverpool and Portsmouth man pulled up with an injury. Having made all three substitutions by then, he was forced to stay on the pitch. “I’ve had these kinds of injuries a few times in my career so far,” he said with a smile. He went on to add that he felt a sore groin and needed a little bit of treatment. “I felt my groin get a little sore. We’ll see tomorrow. If I am injured we’ll definitely see another goalkeeper take my place. At the moment I don’t know what the team is going to be. I don’t know what the situation is with regards to other injuries. We will have to assess that on Thursday,” he added.
