Kerala Blasters qualifies for Indian Super League semis after 5 years

Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters made their semi-finals berth confirmed this season after Hyderabad FC knocked Mumbai City out of the race with a 2-1 win tonight.

After tonight's loss, the defending champions end their season fifth in the league table. They have bagged 31 points from 20 matches. Whereas Kerala Blasters qualifies for the semi-finals with 33 points from 19 matches. The Tuskers are all set to play their last league stage match tonight against struggling FC Goa.

This has been nothing short of a stellar season for Kerala, the team from the south winning nine games out of 19 and playing some eye-catching football under head coach Ivan Vukomanovic.

Kerala Blasters FC has turned what seemed to be a disappointing start to the season into one of the most memorable ones in their history. Their first match of the season against a strong ATK Mohun Bagan FC was a tough one. The Mariners put 4 goals past Albino Gomes.

Ivan's boys turned it around from then, going on a 9-match unbeaten run, which included 4 wins and 5 draws. They even defeated the defending champions Mumbai City FC comprehensively by a scoreline of 3-0.

"We cannot calculate anything. We have to fight for points and the approach will be the same. This is how we think and that is the only way to approach the game," head coach Vukomanovic said.

Summing up the season so far, Vukomanovic said, "We all started working together and since then we have been in the right way"

He believes, "This is just the beginning and the process needs time. It takes time to build. We created some interesting things and the team backed each other. The success we got is the product of the process".