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Kerala Blasters FC managed to get past the Jamshedpur FC challenge after two legs of the ISL 2021-22 semi-final. They drew 1-1 in the second leg on Tuesday and won the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
The side started brilliantly in the second leg against the Red Miners. They were rewarded with an early goal by Adrian Luna, who was phenomenal for the Yellow Tuskers. The team was slightly on the backfoot after the resumption in the second half. However, they managed to gain control again as the half progressed and held on till the final whistle.
Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic shared his thoughts on the game and the win in the post-match press-conference. The Serbian football coach expressed his delight at reaching the ISL final and lauded the performance of the side. He said:
"You know, it's been a great achievement for the club, especially for the fans. They waited so long to be where we stand today. After several seasons of disappointment, we achieved something great today. I think we should all be happy. The entire Yellow family and all the people from Kerala should be happy."
He talked about the team's performance over the course of the season, saying:
"I'm so proud of these boys. They've been fighting the whole season. From the start of the season last year, we knew that they had the potential to end up at the top of the table."
"We didn't have the balance"- Jamshedpur FC coach after failing to go past Kerala Blasters FC
The Red Miners equalized in the second half. However, they couldn't create another opportunity to score and ended up losing the tie on aggregate.
Head coach Owen Coyle opened up about the issues he faced while deciding the squad. The team lacked certain players who were sidelined with injuries. Speaking about this, Coyle said:
"We didn't have the balance. It's fair to say that. Len was desperate to play but he was on the bench. We tried Greg there. It could have failed for us."
The Jamshedpur FC head coach added that he was disappointed at not making it to the final. He felt that his side put up a better display in the second leg than in the first.
