Stephen Pearson was delighted after Kerala Blasters FC started their home campaign in the Hero Indian Super League with a 1-0 win over FC Goa today and credited the victory to a solid all-round team performance.

The former Scottish international midfielder-winger, who has turned out for Motherwell, Celtic and Stoke City in the Premier League, spelt out the many factors that contributed to the victory in an exclusive conversation with www.indiansuperleague.com after the match.

“I think it was the work rate, the togetherness we showed that was great. We were solid at the base, in the midfield and upfront. Everyone played their part. Substitutes that came on were excellent as well and I think we worked really hard for these three points. All-round, it was a very good team performance,” the 32-year-old player explained.

The 6-foot-plus Scotsman who played the entire 90 minutes of the encounter, said it was a fantastic feeling to come back home after five matches on the road and win in front of the home fans. “The most important thing was to get the points today. Obviously, after the run of away games that we’ve had and coming back here to Kochi and getting three points in front of your fans is fantastic,” he exclaimed.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi was jam packed with nearly 50,000 fans showing up to render their support to the Blasters. Pearson commented on the exceptional turnout saying, “When you look at the crowds, there are at least 50,000 of them and it's absolutely fantastic. It's a bit of a cliché that you call them the 12th man, but they drive the team on and it's a pleasure to play in front of them. They love their football and it's a great start for them.”

Despite getting their campaign back on track with this win, Pearson said they would now have to focus on the next match against Delhi Dynamos FC coming up on November 9: “We’ve still got a long way to go. We’ve had a difficult start with five away games and it’s great to get our first home win. We can build on that on Sunday.”