Kerala Blasters FC interim head coach T.G. Purushothaman praised his players’ collective fighting spirit and unwavering determination as they edged past Punjab FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.

Noah Sadaoui scored the solitary goal for the Blasters with his cool and composed finish from the spot. Despite that, the visitors generated a couple of attacking moves with Adrian Luna, Kwame Peprah, and Sadaoui combining, but they were down to nine men following Milos Drincic and Aiban Dohling’s red cards in the second half.

However, the Blasters demonstrated a valiant performance, keeping the opponent at bay and kept their lead intact thanks to Sachin Suresh’s crucial saves. With that, Kerala Blasters FC became just the third side to win an ISL game after receiving two or more red cards, after Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC.

Purushothaman acknowledged the challenges posed by the Shers despite conceding two red cards. However, the head coach heaped praise on his team’s never-say-die attitude and indomitable spirit as they managed to overcome such an uphill task to seal all three points in an away game.

“Yeah, it was a difficult match as we were playing an away match. We dominated the game, but when we got that (second) red card, we were struggling. As I said, these boys are very talented and technically sound, so they can be flexible to all the tactics that we used,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“So, they made it quite natural to make it an easy way. It's not an easy way, but in a way, it was what we needed, and we achieved it. That's it. It's teamwork; as a team we won the match,” Purushothaman continued.

Punjab FC missed their lethal foreign duo of Luka Majcen and Pulga Vidal due to suspension. But the Blasters’ head coach disclosed that they didn’t think about individuals and that they wanted to tackle Punjab FC as a team.

“It's not regarding Indian players or foreign players; it's about the team we are playing against. So, we need to overcome this as a team,” Purushothaman shared.

“We still need some specific things to improve, and we are working on it. Hopefully, we will overcome all the obstacles like this,” he further added.

Kerala Blasters FC kept their first away clean sheet in the ISL after 14 such games. They had failed to keep an away clean sheet throughout 2024.

Purushothaman shared his delight on registering a clean sheet in a challenging situation, saying, “Lucky that we kept a clean sheet. It's good for the team.”

“The red cards happen sometimes; I'm not blaming or pointing at anyone. We have to overcome all the obstacles like this to achieve as a team; teamwork is the most important thing for me and for us,” Purushothaman signed off.

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Kerala Blasters FC2024-2025Punjab FC