Men in Yellow Register Maiden Win of the Tournament
Winning moment finally came for Kerala Blasters FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) as the team crushed FC Goa by 2-1 in the football match played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Margao on Monday.
Goans were the first to take a lead in the match, Julio Cesar scored the first goal for his team in the 24th minute. But the happiness for FC Goa was proved momentary and Kerala Blasters made the superb comeback in the second half. Two back-to-back strikes by Mohammed Rafi and Kervens Belfort turned the entire game towards Kerala Blasters FC and helped the team to register their maiden win.
The first shot on a goalpost came within 10 minutes of the commencement of the match and it went Kerala’s way as the ball was shot away from outside the box. Initially, Kerala failed to create pressure on the host team and the team was righteously punished in the 24th minute by FC Goa.
Richarlyson’s excellent cross from the left found Cesar in a good position at the far post. The Brazilian striker’s powerful header outjumped Josu Currais and the ball holed straight inside the goalpost passing beyond Sandip Nandy which gave the lead of 1-0 to the host team.
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury was called into an action in the 35th minute of the match when Sandesh Jhingan’s free-kick passed beyond the goalpost. However, Goa’s defence was fully aware of this danger and tipped the ball over the crossbar to maintain their team’s lead in the match.
Diligent efforts of Kerala players turned the match towards their team in the second half of the match. Mohammed Rafique’s skilful cross was met by Rafi’s left foot and he levelled the lead by 1-1 for Kerala Blasters.
Another huge opportunity came for Kerala Blasters in the 80th minute when Michael Chopra found the ball at his feet but Chowdhury saved the shot with his excellent game under the bar. The moment had literally brought the fans of Kerala Blasters at the edge of their seats.
As the game approached its climax Goans defence started looking a bit shaky. Gregory Arnolin had almost attempted a blunder when his header almost struck at Goa’s goal in the 83rd minute. A minute later, Belfort crushed the winning dream of the host and he fired the goal which went straight inside the net passing clear Goa’s goalkeeper which took the score at 2-1 for the men in yellow.
The Goan players tried hard to level the lead till the end of the game but the resolute defence of Kerala Blasters ruined all their hopes and the men in yellow picked their first three points in the tournament.
