ISL 2019-20 | Really frustrated with Mario Arques’ injury, says Eelco Schattorie
Kerala Blasters coach Eelco Schattorie has expressed his frustration at Mario Arques’s injury during their clash against ATK, which they won 2-1 to kick-start their ISL 2019-20 campaign. He also stated that ATK weren’t dangerous, despite needing four wrong referee decisions to survive.
It was a breathless match between ATK and Kerala Blasters on Sunday at Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which saw the hosts win 2-1 after going a goal down early on. However, while Schattorie was delighted with the three points from a tricky fixture, he admitted his frustration as his star midfielder Arques was seen getting stretchered out.
"I’m happy we have three points, I am, but I felt really frustrated after we lost Mario Arques. He played 45 minutes in the pre-season. it was a risk to use him and he goes out with another injury," said Schattorie after the match in the press conference, reported ISL website.
“We lost Sandesh (Jhingan) in the pre-season. Very difficult to make a responsible decision on who to pick. Let’s see how the players get out of this. I think we deserved to win. The players had a fantastic mentality on the field. TP Rehenesh got injured, he twisted his ankle and could hardly walk so we had to use Bilal (Khan). He has no experience in the Hero ISL," he added.
Kerala were the second-best side throughout the 90 minutes in their backyard and numerous chinks in their defence came to the fore, which ATK failed to exploit despite getting many chances. However, Schattorie chose to focus on his players’ efforts over those loopholes.
“Overall there are some areas we must fix. We are very, very happy with the three points and the commitment of the players. First-half, we played some football. In the second half, it was about surviving. ATK only got chances through free kicks, but we conceded some stupid free-kicks. Overall the defence was good, I think,” he said.
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