NorthEast United FC had a perfect start to their campaign after beating Kerala Blasters FC 1-0 in Hero Indian Super League 2016’s season opener at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Saturday. It was an evenly-matched contest that was decided by a 55th-minute strike by Katsumi Yusa. The win also marked a positive start for their new head coach Nelo Vingada, who was happy with the outcome but was also quick to emphasise the need for improvement.“We have to play better to get more points and to win more games. We made some good syncs in the opening minutes of the game… In the second half we scored at the right moment, at a time when we were having some control of the game,” he told the media in the post-match press conference.Vingada has coached several Asian countries like Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and China in the past. When asked to comment on the level of competition on display in the Hero ISL, he said: “It’s been a short while since I have been in India and even though the ranking of India is very low, I must say that this league is in the top-seven leagues in Asia. Of course, there is Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar but I have also been a few years in China and I must say there is not much difference.”The Highlanders could have won by a bigger margin if it were not for some poor shooting up front. However, Vingada wasn’t too critical of his players.“For me this was the best eleven which I could use for today’s game because some players are injured and most of the players are not fully fit for 90 minutes as they are only 70% fit. But I am satisfied with the foreign players and I am also very happy with the Indians boys and one day if we play with more Indian boys we will have a good time,” he said.Amid euphoria and jubilation, Vingada, however, acknowledged that they need to improve if they are to make their maiden semis appearance this season.“Of course I am happy, we made a few good syncs better than I expected. But I know we have to play better to reach the semis which is my target and of my players, so we have to be more consistent. But nobody in the world can be as consistent in the first game as they are after five to six games. So no doubt if we don’t grow up and play better, it won’t be enough,” he said.
