ISL 2022-23: Kerala Blasters have the best fans in Hero ISL – Victor Mongil

Kerala Blasters FC centre-back Victor Mongil feels the club has the best fans in the Hero Indian Super League. The Tuskers faced an ignominious defeat of 4-0 against table-toppers Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai in their last match of the competition on Sunday.

However, despite this being an away game for Kerala Blasters, the fans’ support was amazing for them. A total of 6407 fans attended the match and out of them, almost 50% were away team supporters.

Despite trailing by 4-0 after only 22 minutes, Kerala Blasters’ fans didn’t lose faith in their team as they cheered every positive move of the side. Meanwhile, Pereyra Diaz scored a brace for the home team whereas Greg Stewart and Bipin Singh also found the back of the net.

“It was amazing. Obviously, at our home their support is excellent but when we play away the fans support us so well. Today half of the fans in Mumbai’s stadium were supporting us,” Mongil told indiansuperleague.com in an exclusive interview after the match.

“We have the best fans in the Hero ISL. Hopefully, we achieve our objectives and give them a reason to smile,” he added.

However, the Spaniard was disappointed with the team’s paltry performance against the Islanders, especially in the first half when it was just one-way traffic.

“Everyone is thinking that how is it possible to concede four goals in 22 minutes? But it’s football. Against these teams, if you don’t stay switched on, they can kill you,” Mongil said.

“We are Kerala Blasters FC and the plan was to impose our skills on the match. But Mumbai City FC is also a good team and the first 25 minutes killed us. We need to learn from our mistakes and continue to work,” he added.

Kerala Blasters will next take on FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on 22nd January and thus have a lot of time to prepare for their next match.

“Football always gives you an opportunity in the next match. We need to continue focussing on our objectives,” he said.

“The atmosphere in this team is amazing. Everyone helps each other, stays focussed in our way, everybody knows and everybody can play. We still want to try and finish in the first position,” he added.