We were way better in the last 30 minutes: Kerala Blasters’ Mikael Stahre after win against East Bengal FC

Kerala Blasters FC head coach Mikael Stahre was delighted after a 2-1 win against East Bengal FC in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday. Stahre reckons his team was way better in the last 30 minutes of the game.

After a goalless first half, the visitors took the lead after midfielder Puthiya scored in the 59th minute. However, the home team equalized when Morrocan striker Noah Sadaoui found the back of the net after four minutes.

The Yellow Tuskers forward Kwame Peprah scored the winning goal in the 88th minute to give all three points to his team.

“It was quite obvious (that we would coordinate better than the last game). Sometimes it’s quite easy to analyze the games, and of course, we kept the ball better today. (And) I think we can play better in the future,” Stahre stated in the post-match press conference.

Stahre hailed the collective effort of the team, which helped them in getting the desired result against the Kolkata-based club.

“The reason we are here as a winning team at this moment is not just because of a strong starting line-up, but also because of a really good finishing line-up,” he said.

“You see that every single week now, and every single day actually, or a match in this ISL, that lots of goals are being scored in the dying minutes. Everyone in football talks about the line-up, but also about who is in the line-up in the closing minutes of the game,” Stahre opined.

The gaffer reckons the players were able to lift their game in the last half an hour and he was happy with the team’s performance.

“Obviously, today we were the stronger team over the 90 minutes. We played against a good opponent; it was a pretty even game. But I think in the last 30 minutes, we were way better, and all this contributed to the win.”

“It’s really important that as we are progressing (in the league) – that down the road goals (should be) to take points. It’s hard to lose, lose, lose, and then suddenly lose confidence. Now that we have won this game, it was really, really important for the table, for the atmosphere, for the fans, for the team, for all of us,” he remarked.

Kerala Blasters FC will next take on Durand Cup champions NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Sunday.