Post-Match Press Conference
Kerala Blasters FC suffered a 4-1 loss against NorthEast United FC on Sunday, 18th October 2026, at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati, for their second fixture of the MG Indian Super League 2026-27.
NorthEast United FC, building upon their home advantage, dominated over the Blasters for a vast majority of the match and earned three points, courtesy of Alaaeddine Ajaraie (15’, 70’), Antonio Moyano (45+3), and Aman CK (83’). Momo Yansane (60’) scored the solitary goal for the Blasters after taking a shot from distance, off a flick from Luna. NorthEast United, who dealt the later stages of the game professionally, ensured that Blasters did not breach their goal further.
Following the loss, Ashley Westwood spoke on the team’s performance, the prerequisites of a proper preseason and shared his optimism on the upcoming games.
Here is a report of the post-match presser of the match between NorthEast United FC and Kerala Blasters FC.
Thoughts on the game
Speaking after the match, Ashley conceded that the Blasters deserved the defeat following an off-colour performance. However, the manager highlighted the squad’s character in a stronger second-half effort to make it 2-1, maintaining that missed opportunities ultimately cost them a potential comeback.
I think that’s just where we are in our season. Obviously, assembled late, there’s no excuses. We lost. We deserved to lose on the first half’s performance. We had a nice reaction after half-time. We scored the goal to make it 2-1. If we could have got another goal with the chances we created, it would have ended differently. We didn’t deserve to win, but at least we showed some reaction.
On the team’s fitness improvement and preseason
Addressing the squad’s physical conditioning, Ashley admitted that an unsatisfactory preseason had left several players lacking match fitness. He highlighted the vital importance of a thorough preseason campaign, noting that it provides the necessary foundation to test tactical combinations and foster team chemistry. Moving forward, he expressed confidence that the group would learn from these early setbacks, raise their fitness standards, and translate those improvements into positive results.
Coming from a low state of fitness, we’ve got to learn about the players. We’ve got loads of new players. We’ve obviously not practised to find out about the new players. Every game, every training session, certainly in defeats, you learn more and more about your team. You learn more and more about who you need to change or swap or give other chances to other people.
That’s the reason you have pre-season. That’s the reason you have pre-season friendlies, to learn. You can’t expect to bring five new foreigners. That’s including Luna for me. I don’t know, eight, nine new Indians and expect to click your fingers and start straight away. I’ll learn, we’ll get it right, we’ll watch, we’ll analyse, and we’ll improve again from next week.
We’re getting better with our fitness. Lads are lasting 90 minutes, not getting cramps. We’re making different substitutions to try different combinations and solutions and see who’s suited for where.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead, Kerala Blasters host Mumbai City FC on October 25 before traveling to face Chennaiyin FC on October 31. Despite the recent setback, Ashley struck an optimistic tone, assuring supporters that a single defeat will not derail their campaign. He insisted that with increased work rate and tactical discipline, the squad has every capability to bounce back in the upcoming fixtures.
Like I say, this is football. You can’t win every game. We’ve got two more games before we have a little bit of a rest so we can do a bit of catch-up fitness-wise. If we go on to win a game and draw, for example, then you’d have to look at that and go eight points from a possible 12 or seven points, whatever it may be. It would be a good return considering what we’ve done. All we’ve got to do is stay in touch. One loss is not going to change our season. We build on it. We don’t be too down. We just work and work harder.
