Category: Match Report

In an intense Group C clash at the 133rd edition of The Durand Cup, Kerala Blasters and Punjab FC played out an hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan The draw saw both teams move to four points from two matches, with Kerala Blasters FC topping the group due to their earlier victory over Mumbai City FC

The first half was a tightly contested affair with both sides creating chances and fighting for possession. In first-half injury time, Luka Majcen broke the deadlock after he made a perfectly timed run to beat the offside trap and latch onto a long pass from Nikhil Prabhu. The Slovenian striker controlled the ball expertly and slotted it past Kerala Blasters’ goalkeeper Som Kumar, giving Punjab FC a crucial lead.

Kerala Blasters made strategic changes at the start of the second half as Head Coach Mikael Stahre introduced Pritam Kotal and Mohammed Aimen, injecting fresh energy into the team. The changes paid off quickly. In the 56th minute, Adrian Luna found Peprah on the left wing and Peprah’s precise cross reached an unmarked Mohammed Aimen at the far post, who calmly slotted in the equalizer.

The remainder of the match was marked by end-to-end action, with both teams pushing for a winner. Punjab FC came close but Keeper Som Kumar made vital saves to deny Luka Majcen and Filip Mrzljak. Kerala Blasters in return nearly clinched victory in the dying moments through consistent attacks leaving fans on the edge of their seats.

As the Durand Cup progresses, Kerala Blasters will aim to build on their strong performances and maintain their top spot in the group!

Goal :

Mohammed Aimen: 57′

Substitutions :

46′ : Hormipam ➡ Pritam Kotal

46′ : Yoihenba ➡ Mohammed Aimen

75′ : Aiban Dohling ➡ Naocha Singh

Kolkata : In last evening’s ISL fixture, Kerala Blasters secured three points in their away game against East Bengal FC with a 2-1 scoreline.

Kerala Blasters went into the contest with a largely unchanged starting line-up from their last game against Odisha FC with only difference being Rahul KP making way for striker Dimitrios Diamantakos.

The game started off with both teams looking to stamp their authority, which lead to the game being played with a certain degree of physicality which earned both teams two yellow cards each within the first quarter of the game.

However the visiting team didn’t allow this to effect their gameplan, as the midfield combination of Adrian Luna with Daisuke Sakai build an attack through the heart of the East Bengal defence leading to Daisuke putting a ball from Luna into the back of the net in the 34th minute, registering his first goal in Kerala Blasters colors.

KBFC continued pressing through the rest of the first half, giving literally no access to East Bengal to work their way upto into Blasters’ half of the pitch.

East Bengal came into the second half with three substitutions and renewed vigour to attack and test the resolute Kerala Blasters defence led by the experienced Pritam Kotal.

Despite East Bengal having greater amount of possession and more shots at the goal, the Blasters held on and nulfied every attempt from the Torchbearers to make a comeback into the game.

The resistance was eventually shaken when in the 85th minute Kerala Blasters FC conceded a penalty which was taken by East Bengal skipper Cleiton Silva. However goalkeeper Sachin Suresh rose to the occasion and saved the penalty with a lot of composure.

This moment was utilised by the Blasters unit to counter-attack in numbers soon transpiring into Dimitrios Diamantakos sealing the game in favour of the Blasters with a goal in the 89th minute.

However Diamantakos was penalized with a second yellow card for the game soon after scoring, when he took off his jersey to celebrate his goal.

Thereafter in the dying moments of the game, Blasters conceded another penalty due to a handball error in the box from full-back Sandeep Singh, this time Silva put the ball into the goal with the final whistle following soon after.

The three points earned from this fixture took the Blasters to 13 points from 6 games making them table toppers in the ISL points tally, underlining the consistency shown by the team.

Kerala Blasters will now be looking to continue this momentum when they play their next ISL fixture in Kochi on the 25th November against Hyderabad FC.

Substitutions

Mohammed Aimen [IN] – [OUT] Daisuke Sakai 90+5′

Rahul KP [IN] – [OUT] Kwame Peprah 79′

Mohammed Azhar [IN] – [OUT] Danish Farooq 62′

Kochi : Kerala Blasters made a gritty comeback in the 2nd half of their 5th ISL encounter for the season against a very well marshalled Odisha FC side to secure all 3 points, taking the team to second on the League table with 10 points.

Odisha FC’ Sergio Lobera and Kerala Blasters’ returning manager Ivan Vukomanović both employed a 4-4-2 formation but it was Odisha FC who got off the blocks quicker, they built continuous pressure which led to Brazilian striker Diego Maurício driving the Juggernauts into an early lead.

The home team created chances of their own, but Kwame Peprah and Rahul KP’s attacks were nullified by a resolute Odisha FC defense, who constantly threw their bodies into the line of multiple shots to deny the Blasters parity in the game.

In the 21st minute of the match, Naocha Singh conceded a penalty due to a handball incident in his box, however young goalkeeper Sachin Suresh denied the penalty from Diego Maurício and a following rebound shot to disallow Odisha FC gaining further footing in the game.

From there on there was a visible shift in momentum, with the vocal home crowd getting involved in the game, which in return opened the game further for KBFC to build up a counter-attack, however the score was still 1-0 in favour of the visitors at half-time.

Soon into the half-time, coach Ivan Vukomanovic introduced midfielder Freddy Lallawmawma and striker Dimitrios Diamantakos into the game and the Greek international scored the equaliser off a ball into the box from Daisuke Sakai in 66th minute of the game, visibly rattling the vistors which led to many errors on the part of Odisha FC earning them as many five yellow cards for the game.

Blasters didn’t relinquish this advantage and constantly peppered the Odisha FC defense in search of that winning goal, which eventually came from an Adrian Luna attack in the 84th minute when he curled a ball into the top left corner of Odisha FC’ goal, a shot that sailed over the defense and keeper’s reach making all of the home crowd erupt in joy.

It was a massive comeback to overcome the early jitters and rally around in the second half of the game to mount the comeback that was displayed by the Blasters, Ivan Vukomanović’s tactical imprints were also clearly visible in the way he maneuvered his squad through timely substitutionsin the game’s second half.

Kerala Blasters next will play their second away game of this ISL season in Kolkata against East Bengal on 4th November, with victories such as this one providing the necessary belief in the whole squad to face the challenges ahead.

Substitutions

Freddy Lallawmawma [IN] – [OUT] Vibin Mohanan 58′

Dimitrios Diamantakos [IN] – [OUT] Rahul KP 58′

Mohammed Aimen [IN] – [OUT] Daisuke Sakai 70′

Ishan Pandita [IN] – [OUT] Kwame Peprah 81′

Mohammed Azhar [IN] – [OUT] Freddy Lallawmawma 81′

Kochi : In last evening’s ISL fixture, Kerala Blasters were denied three points during their third home match of the season by Northeast United FC as they held the Blasters to a 1-1 draw.

Kerala Blasters started the contest with their usual 4-4-2 formation against Northeast United FC’s 5-3-2 combination.

As the game began, the home team held much of the possession and consistently attacked the opposition’s goal, but just missed gaining the lead by a slim margin.

However in the 12th minute the Highlanders gained a lead through Spaniard Néstor Albiach who worked a goal into the lower half of the Blasters net to give his team an advantage.

With four foreign players playing in their attacking half of the formation, the Blasters began to develop momentum through their attacks, changing the game’s momentum. Northeast United FC, however, went into half-time with a one-goal lead intact as the equaliser remained elusive for the Blasters.

In the second half the Blasters entered without any changes to the XI, but with renewed intensity the home-team broke the defense of the Highlanders through a set-piece led by skipper Adrian Luna whose free-kick into the Northeast United box was deflected into the goal by a precise header from Danish Farooq, making him register another goal to back his goal against Mumbai City FC in Kerala Blasters’ last fixture.

The game continued with aggressive momentum with Highlanders raking up as many as four yellow cards, whereas Kerala Blasters managed a sole yellow card through Rahul KP in the closing stages of the game.

Eventually after a closely contested tussle, both teams ended the game with a 1-1 scoreline, with the highlight of the game being the aggressive play with lack of shot accuracy not allowing either team to have a decisive edge in the game.

Kerala Blasters FC will now step-out for their next ISL fixture on 27th October against Odisha FC in Kochi. The game holds specific importance as it will be the game where Blasters head coach Ivan Vukamanovic will mark his return to the sidelines managing his team after serving his 10 match disciplinary ban.

Substitutions

Mohammed Aimen [OUT] – [IN] Daisuke Sakai 70′

Ishan Pandita [IN] – [OUT] Dimitrios Diamantakos 79′

Freddy Lallawmawma [IN] – [OUT] Vibin Mohanan 85′

Rahul KP [IN] – [OUT] Kwame Peprah 85′

Kolkata: 27 August 2023: A closely contested pre-season friendly between Kerala Blasters FC and Punjab FC ended in a 2-3 victory for the team from Punjab.

This afternoon, both teams played at the AIFF Center of Excellence in Kolkata with pre-season game time and squad depth being the underlying focus of the game.

An early goal by Punjab FC, Hero ISL’s newest team, established the lead, setting up a tussle that continued throughout the first half as both teams attempted to outflank each other through constant attacks. Bidyashagar, in good form, scored the equalizer following a precise ball delivery by fellow statesman Naocha Singh.

As both teams retreated back into the sheds at the end of the first half, the score was 1-1. Entering the second half, Kerala Blasters made as many as five changes to their starting XI, and soon into the second half Punjab FC registered two goals in quick succession to put pressure on the Blasters unit.

Post the 60-minute mark the Blasters again introduced more fresh legs into the game making five more changes at constant intervals ensuring some match-time to every available member of the squad.

Around the 75th minute Miloš Drinčić and Yoihenba Meitei replaced Hormipam Ruivah and skipper Adrian Luna respectively, Miloš the towering Montenegrin center back stepping foot on the pitch for the first time in KBFC colors made an immediate impact when he headed a ball delivered from a corner-kick set piece, making the score 2-3.

As the final whistle blew, both teams shook hands with Punjab FC holding onto their one-goal lead to the end. After the conclusion of this pre-season match, the Kerala Blasters will finish their stay in Kolkata and regroup in Kochi for a few days prior to embarking on the Hala Blasters Tour 2023, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates from September 5 to 16, 2023.

First Half :

GK: Karanjit Singh

Pritam Kotal ,Hormipam Ruivah, Marko Lešković, Naocha Singh, Bryce Miranda, Jeakson Singh, Danish Farooq, Sourav Mandal, Bidyashagar Singh, Adrian Luna

Second Half :

GK: Sachin Suresh

Prabir Das ,Hormipam Ruivah, Bijoy Varghese, Naocha Singh, Bryce Miranda, Jeakson Singh, Danish Farooq, Nihal Sudeesh, Rahul KP, Adrian Luna

Subs : Vibin Mohanan, Mohammad Azhar, Sandeep Singh, Justine Emmanuel, Muhammed Saheef, Miloš Drinčić and Yoihenba Meitei

Kerala Blasters stepped on the field at East Bengal Ground in Kolkata for an afternoon game against Indian Air Force Football Team earlier today. The eleven to take field in today’s game had a large core of youngsters lead by the experienced Pritam Kotal who donned the captain’s armband in absence of Adrian Luna.

The Blasters dictated the pace of the game from the very first whistle with precise and sharp passing, creating constant attacks at the goal of the opponent.

This sustained pressure helped Blasters in scoring their first goal in the 9th minute through a well placed shot from young Mohammed Aimen, earning him, his third goal in as many games of the tournament.

Bidyashagar soon added to the Blasters goal tally with a clean strike in the 12th minute to assert his presence in the game. From there through the end of the first half KBFC held a large chunk of the possession with the midfielders combining smartly with the strikers to create multiple chances, without any further addition to the goals scored.

In the second half, Kerala Blasters opened their scoring in the 57th minute through midfielder Danish Farooq who impressed with his all-round play both at the back and frontline of the pitch today.

In the 62nd minute Vibin Mohanan provided a nicely aimed left footed cross that Bidyashagar headed into the goal to make it 4-0 for Blasters.

KBFC rounded off their goal count for with a fifth goal in the 82nd minute again through Bidyashagar, who also brought up his hat-trick through that strike, producing a near flawless performance in the game.

Kerala Blasters bows out of the Durand Cup 2023 with this dominant performance, with the highlight being the younger, inexperienced members of the squad stepping up and performing for the team.

Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC played out a 2-2 draw in their Group C match of the Durand Cup earlier this evening.

The match was a closely contested affair, with the Kerala Blasters creating plenty of chances without the finishing required to close out the game. In comparison, the largely inexperienced Bengaluru FC side made the most of the limited number of chances they managed to create through precision shooting in front of the net.

Kerala Blasters took the lead in the 14th minute through a goal from young Nigerian forward Justine Emmanuel, and from that point onwards, the Blasters strung together multiple attacks against the young BFC side without bearing any addition to the goal tally. Eventually in the 38th minute, against the run of play, Bengaluru forward Edmund Lalrindika equalised for his team.

From that point forward, the intensity of the game picked up for both teams, ending the half-time at 1-1 on an equal footing.

Kerala Blasters began the second half with much higher intensity, raising the pace of the game in pursuit of a goal to break the deadlock; however, this created openings in the Blasters formation, which were brought to the fore by a goal from Ashish Jha in the 52nd minute that brought the Blues into the lead.

Following the trend of the game, Rahul KP’s left-footed attempt missed the goal by a whisker in the 55th minute. Soon after, Rahul was subbed out for Ishan Pandita, who stepped on the field for his new team in the 59th minute, while Danish Farooq was replaced with young Mohammed Aimen in the 67th minute.

These changes brought a new influx of energy into the Kerala Blasters attack, creating more and more pressure on the BFC defence. Eventually, in the 83rd minute, Aimen found the back of the net with a flawlessly placed goal after receiving a clinical pass from skipper Adrian Luna.

With scores tied at 2-2, the Blasters suffered a body blow when defender Hormipam Ruivah received his second yellow card of the game in the 84th minute, leading to KBFC having to play with only 10 men for the remaining 14 minutes of the game.

Post-injury time, when the final whistle was blown in the 98th minute, both teams found themselves level at 2-2.

Kerala Blasters FC gained precious preseason game time when they faced Maharaja’s College football team in a friendly encounter at Ernakulam’s Panampally Nagar Football Ground this evening.

Kerala Blasters entered the game with a 4-4-2 formation and concentrated on playing a pressing game, which yielded results in the form of regular goals through the entire 90 minutes of the match.

The first half ended with a 4-0 lead, with Bidyashagar and Bijoy contributing two goals each. Hormipam Ruivah, who wore the captain’s armband, marshaled the backline well to ensure a clinical first half.

The second half saw several changes in personnel but the Blasters attacking onslaught continued. Rahul found the back of the net twice along with a goal each for Diamantakos and Luna, stretching the final score to an impressive 8-0 in favor of the Blasters.

As impressive as the attacking line-up was today, the defensive unit, comprising the likes of Hormipam, Prabir Das, Lešković, and Bijoy, was also equally clinical in dousing any possible attacks from building.

New signing Pritam Kotal also got his first look as a Blasters player in what was a commanding second-half performance from the veteran defender.

The preseason friendly was an important fixture in ensuring that the entire squad got some match minutes under their belts before the team faces more challenging fixtures in the Durand Cup lined up next month.

LINEUPS

First Half

Sachin, Naocha, Hormipam, Bijoy, Prabir, Yoihemba, Azhar ( 23′ Roshan), Bryce, Justine, Bidyashagar, Ajsal ( 23′ Nihal )

Second half

Karanjit, Saurav, Pritam, Lešković, Saheef, Jeakson, Danish, Aimen, Rahul, Luna, Diamantakos.