Agencies
Kochi
After beating NorthEast United FC 3-1 in their opening match of the 2015 Hero Indian Super League (ISL), Kerala Blasters FC are now ready for their second encounter and this time they find themselves pitted against Mumbai City FC who lost to FC Pune City in their opener.
Kerala head coach Peter Taylor, speaking to the media ahead of the game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, refused to write off Mumbai when asked if he thought the Nicolas Anelka-led team was under pressure to deliver.
“The head coach (Anelka) of the team would want to win the next match and they are a very determined team. We have to respect that and make sure we're prepared for the next match,” Taylor said.
Defender Peter Ramage, who kept Taylor company at the press meet on Friday, was at the heart of Kerala’s defence against NorthEast. He praised the team’s defence in the last game but stressed that they needed to keep their frontline and backline working in tandem to keep Mumbai in check. “The backline was never comfortable (vs NorthEast), we had to make it comfortable. But yes for the next match we have the likes of Anelka and (Andre) Moritz and I'm a firm believer of the fact that for a good performance the frontline has to play well as much as the backline,” Ramage said.
Former Arsenal striker Sanchez Watt came onto the pitch as a substitute in the second half of the first game against NorthEast and scored Kerala’s third goal. When asked if Watt’s performance was good enough to earn him a start, Taylor said: “I don't know he might, I do not have Mumbai's line-up in front of me so I don't know, I do not want to give out mine. But what Peter (Ramage) said before is right they have good strikers up front and we have to get things right.”
However, Taylor revealed team’s marquee player Carlos Marchena, who didn’t play in the first game either, and midfielder Peter Carvalho will miss the game.
