KOCHI: After an uplifting opening day win, Kerala Blasters FC will seek to maintain the momentum as they host Mumbai City FC in their first home game of the season here Friday.
Kerala defeated ATK 2-0 in Kolkata in the opening game and will now be in a buoyant mood. Strikers Slavisa Stojanovic and Matej Poplatnik were both among the goals and will provide Mumbai City with a stern test of their defence which was breached twice by Jamshedpur FC.
“We have got so many players who have been training and have put themselves in a position to be selected. For any manager, the difficulty is a fully fit squad with everyone ready to go. The two guys who scored (against ATK) did well. Watching the videos, we created a lot of chances in the game from a lot of different players,” said coach David James. Besides the goals, Kerala maintained a clean slate with Serbian defender Nemanja Lakic-Pesic receiving generous praise from the coach. “I am not sure Lakic Pesic stepped in because Anas was absent.
He is one of those who deserved the right to start. As a coach, the best thing is to have is everybody playing well,” said James. Mumbai City are yet to win an ISL match in Kochi. (PTI)
