Roshan Naorem’s free-kick helps Bengaluru beat Kerala Blasters in Southern Derby
Bengaluru extended their unbeaten streak as they defeated Kerala Blasters 1-0 in ‘Match 76’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season courtesy of a fantastic freekick from Roshan Naorem.
The Blues’ head coach Marco Pezzaiouli made a solitary change to his starting XI as he reinstated Danish Farooq in midfield, dropping Iranian midfielder Iman Basafa to the bench. Similarly, Kerala Blasters’ head coach Ivan Vukomanovic also made a single tweak. Croatian defender Marko Leskovic who missed the last match because of an injury replaced Enes Sipovic in the starting XI.
The Tuskers had a brilliant start with Alvaro Vazquez creating all sorts of problems in the opening exchanges of the game. Jorge Pereyra Diaz also joined in as he went for glory with great venom in the 7th minute, only to hit the side netting.
The Blues created their first major opening in the 20th minute. Roshan and Udanta Singh combined on the left flank before the latter laid off a pass for Sunil Chhetri who then found Farooq in space with a clever back-flick but the midfielder failed to keep his shot on target.
Roshan created another opening only four minutes later when he delivered a brilliant corner kick for Prince Ibara, but the Congolese striker’s header lacked precision. Just before the half-hour mark, Bengaluru defender Parag Shrivas drilled a sublime ball in for Chhetri, but unfortunately, the Blues’ skipper reach the ball on time.
Pezzaiouli’s team completely dominated the second phase of the first half and came agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 37th minute when Roshan found Ibara in space with another corner. The former Beerschot man’s header found Chhetri who could not get his shot in, but in an attempt to clear the ball off to safety, Diaz struck a shot straight at the Bengaluru frontman. The ricochet was heading towards the goal but a former Blue in Nishu Kumar emerged as the Tuskers’ survivor with a timely goalline clearance.
Right before the half-time break, Chhetri was taken down by the Kerala Blasters custodian Prabshukan Gill inside the box, leading to appeals of penalty from the Bengaluru players. However, referee Harish Kundu remained unmoved.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 56th-minute mark when Puitea conceded a cheap free-kick right outside the box. Young full-back Roshan who has already made a name for himself for his wand of a left foot took the responsibility on his shoulders and his shot had the perfect amalgamation of power and precision to beat Gill in the Tuskers’ goal.
Vukomanovic’s team got a free-kick thirteen minutes later, from which Adrian Luna found Harmanjot Singh at the far post. Khabra did well to chest the ball down, turn, and pull the trigger but his shot was saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
The Bengaluru goalkeeper was called into action yet again merely a couple of minutes later when Diaz found Luna through on goal with a well-directed pass, but Gurpreet timed his outing perfectly to block the Uruguayan attacker’s shot.
Kerela Blasters threw the kitchen sink at the Blues in the last quarter and in the 74th minute, Nishu’s whipped cross from a short corner found Leskovic in the penalty area. The defender was in an excellent position to head it home but he could not get a proper connection in his header.
Cleiton Silva looked sharp after coming on as a substitute
The last big chance of the match fell to Pezzaiouli’s team in the 80th minute when Udanta made a darting run down the right flank before calmly slotting the ball in the path of substitute Cleition Silva but the Brazilian was denied by a sharp save by Gill.
Bengaluru has climbed to the fourth position in the standings with this win and will be up against Jamshedpur on Saturday while the third-placed Kerala Blasters will take on NorthEast United on Friday.