Kerala Blasters bounce back in fashion; hands NorthEast United 2-1 defeat
Kerala Blasters bounced back in fashion as they handed NorthEast United a 2-1 defeat in ‘Match 81’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season. Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Alvaro Vazquez were on target for the Tuskers while Mohamed Irshad scored the consolation goal for the Highlanders.
Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic made a forced change to the team that lost 1-0 in the Southern Derby against Bengaluru as Ayush Adhikari replaced the suspended Puitea in the middle of the park.
On the other hand, NorthEast United head coach Khalid Jamil made three changes to his team as Joe Zoherliana replaced Provat Lakra at right-back and Hernan Santana was reinstated in midfield at the expense of Sehnaj Singh serving his suspension. Pragyan Gogoi was also handed a start with Imran Khan dropping to the bench as the third and final change.
The Tuskers could have found the opening very early in the 5th minute when Ayush threaded a pass for Sahal Abdul Samad at the right flank but he failed to put in a decent cross for the attackers lurking inside the box.
Four minutes later, NorthEast United got their first chance when VP Suhair went for the spectacular from an acute angle, but his shot sailed over the crossbar. Marcelinho also tried something similar, while for Kerala, Ayush went for not one but three long-range attempts. However, none of those efforts resulted in a goal.
The first major opening of the first half came in the 42nd minute when Jeakson Singh got his head to a fantastic Adrian Luna corner. The Manipuri midfielder did well to flick the ball towards the goal but his effort kissed the crossbar and went over.
Whatever Vukomanovic said at the half-time break produced the desired result, as the Tuskers looked a lot better in the second half. Seeing the Highlanders’ custodian Subhasish Roy off his line, Vazquez became the latest to try a long-range shot, but he too failed to find the target.
The Spaniard took another shot eight minutes and while this one was on target, Subhasish was alert to avert the danger. Only three minutes later, a cross delivered to the box found Luna completely unmarked but the Uruguayan’s header was narrowly wide.
Kerala Blasters continued throwing the kitchen sink at Jamil’s men and they were eventually rewarded for their perseverance in the 62nd minute when Diaz broke the deadlock. A diagonal cross from Nishu Kumar found Harmanjot Khabra at the right flank, who did well to head the ball towards Diaz instead of going for glory himself. The Platense loanee had all the time in the world to compose himself and from such a handshaking distance, he was never going to miss.
Vukomanovic’s team went down to ten men in the 70th minute when Ayush, who had already been yellow-carded in the first half, got a second yellow card for a foul on Santana.
Alvaro Vazquez’s strike is a contender for the goal of the season award
That, however, did not affect the complexion of the game as the Tuskers doubled their lead twelve minutes later. Vazquez intercepted a Mashoor Shereef pass inside his own half and seeing Subhasish off his line once again, he went for another long-range attempt. This time around, his shot was nothing short of a mesmerizing spectacle as it beat the NorthEast goalkeeper before finding the back of the net.
They could easily have added a third when Khabra flicked on a corner into Marko Leskovic’s path. The Croatian defender had the simplest of tasks of tucking the ball into the net but somehow failed to get the right connection. The Highlanders got themselves a consolation goal in the last minute of the game when Santana found the ball in the midfield and made a darting run before laying off a pass for Irshad. The midfielder beat the Tuskers’ outstretched keeper Prabhsukhan Gill perfectly weighted shot.
Kerala Blasters has climbed to the second position with this win and will now take on Jamshedpur on Thursday, while the bottom-ranked NorthEast United will clash with ATK Mohun Bagan next Saturday.