AGENCIES, CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC held Kerala Blasters to a 1-1 draw in their seventh round Indian Super League encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, on Saturday.
Assistant coach Vivek Nagul felt that the draw was a fair result considering they could have trailed 2-1 to the home side when they conceded a penalty early in the second half.
Karanjit Singh was arguably the best player on the field as he denied Chris Dagnall twice in the game and also saved Josue’s penalty in the second half.
“Karanjit did a great job. He motivated us with that penalty save. We are really happy with what he did in the heavy rain and difficult conditions. He has the game to start for the national team,” opined Nagul.
Nagul refuted suggestions that Chennai wanted to play for a draw as they pushed forward in numbers following Bruno Perone’s sending-off.
“Kerala are a good team with good players and we knew we would have a tough game especially since they are desperate for points. We knew they would compete with such an amazing crowd behind them. They supported them throughout but we are happy we did not lose.
“We never play for a draw. We play to win. We were unfortunate to concede early in the second half. That put us on the back foot and once Perone was red carded, we pushed forward more. We brought on Fikru, Pelisari and Franco. We were attacking,” he reasoned.
