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Ever since David James took over as Kerala Blasters coach less than a fortnight ago, the side has looked fresh, hungry and extremely determined. On Sunday, the Blasters had to dig deep but eventually won 1-0 against Mumbai City FC.
Ian Hume's first-half goal proved enough as Kerala are now joint fifth with Mumbai on the ISL points table. Both teams have notched up 14 points from their 10 outings so far.
Post the match, James spoke to the media and suggested that his team was in no way lucky to have scored the goal. While Mumbai's coach, Guimaraes was angry that the referee decided to let the goal stay, James reckons it was a clear, legal goal.
"How is that lucky? The referee said it's okay and we won 1-0. How are we lucky? Iain Hume was taken off the field for no reason. It was 11 vs 10 at one point. We worked hard and I can say we made our own luck. We took our opportunity and put it away," he stated.
With all to play for, the Kerala Blasters fans were present in large numbers at the Mumbai Football Arena. They may not have outnumbered Mumbai's faithful but they were far louder and boisterous.
The Manjappada were extremely loud and made Mumbai their home for a day. James thanked the fans for their unrelenting support and believes they have played a huge part in Kerala's recent success.
"The fans have been superb again. I know they have a banner that says - We Make Each Ground Our Home. Today was like a home game for us. It helps when you have fans. When the players are down, they have to get back up and fight, it was tough and the fans were right behind us. Sandesh Jhingan also orchestrated the Viking clap," he said.
This win slotted ATK down to the seventh position. The Kolkata-based outfit is two points behind Kerala with a game in hand. James reckons their battle for the top 4 this season will be with ATK.
"ATK won their game, we had to maintain their performance level at least. They got a game in hand again so we will go back to our position again (points table). Tonight was fantastic, I am a very happy coach," he said.
