Atlético de Kolkata went down fighting 2-1 to hosts Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday night. The visitors trailed league leaders Chennaiyin FC on goal difference and even a draw in this match would have been enough to see them return to the top of the league table. But it was not meant to be as Kerala held on to the lead amidst some nervous defending towards the end and walked away with three points.Kolkata left back Nallappan Mohanraj who was unlucky to finish on the losing side, was obviously disappointed with the loss. “I really feel we missed out on three points, that goal which was disallowed could have given us a point at the least,” the 25-year-old Tamil Nadu international who has represented India at the under-19 and under-23 levels, told indiansuperleague.com after the match.Nallappan said the loss also meant that Kolkata missed out on a chance to go on top, a scenario that the team is not used to yet. “It’s really disappointing because we used to be on top of the table, but if we could have got one point today, it would have been very good for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t, but that’s football, such things happen,” said the lanky defender. That said, Nallappan is confident of the team’s ability to bounce back as they have always looked like the team to beat throughout the competition. “Throughout the tournament if you see, we’re the team that kept the top spot for a really long time, so we will bounce back for sure,” he assured.Antonio López Habas has been a little reserved on the sidelines after his ban, but Mohanraj backed the head coach, citing him as the driving force behind the team. “He’s always positive, he’s always very encouraging so that’s the influence we’re getting in the dressing room,” he stated.Atlético de Kolkata travel to Pune next and hopefully Nallappan would have done enough to hope he starts again for the visitors as they look to consolidate their position in the league.
