Author: KBFC-Media

When JAMSHEDPUR FC opted to go for a 4-1-4-1 formation, Coach Ivan Vukomanović opted to field Blasters unit under his effective 4-4-2 formation. With Ivan Kalyuzhnyi and Jeakson Singh taking care of the central midfield area, Sahal Abdul Samad and Rahul KP ware in-charge of the wing attacks. Captain Adrian Luna joined Dimitrios Diamantakos in finisher role.

‘THE MEN OF STEEL’, who were coming after losing 4 continuous matches made there statement loud and clear on the 4th touch on ball. A long ball cross from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to the right flank of blasters penalty box within the first few seconds to the game made it clear that Jamshedpur Fc is desperate to get the 3 points. 2 minute in to the game, another long ball from Laldinliana Renthlei went ineffective as there were no JFC players to receive the ball. On the other side, Kerala Blasters played a composed and calculated game as they were tightly marshalled by Jamshedpur Fc on ever moves. A header attempt for Blasters by Sahal Abdul Samad on a cross from Ivan Kalyuzhnyi in the 4th minute was not powerful enough to test TP Rehenesh. A brilliant trough ball to the Jamshedpur Fc penalty box by Adrian Luna in the 5th minute could have caused trouble for the hosts if any of the Blasters strikers could be there to receive the ball. A shot from Ivan Kalyuzhnyi on cross from Luna in the 6th minute also went away from the post.

A clearance error in the Blasters half on the 9th minute resulted in Ritwik Das charging through the left wing and delivering a brilliant cross to the Blasters penalty box. But, a calm and confident Prabhsukhan Singh Gill was there to collect the ball to clear any danger. When attack swinged to the other direction, TP Rehenesh collected the ball safely when Rahul KP could not reach a cross from Marko Lešković. But, ‘MEN IN YELLOW’ was not that far from scoring. A freekick from Adrian Luna in the 17th minute was guided to the target by Dimitrios Diamantakos. With this goal Dimitrios Diamantakos matched the goal tally with Ivan Kalyuzhnyi as the leading goal scorer for Kerala Blaster in ISL season 9 scoring in the 4th match in a row.

An attempt from Sahal Abdul Samad in the 20th minute was denied by Jamshedpur custodian TP Rehenesh. Another attempt from Sahal in the 35th minute went away from the post. Jamshedpur Fc also had their fair share of attempts on goal. A shot on target from Ritwik Das in the 37th minute was denied by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill with a stunning save. Another shot on target for JFC from Boris Singh was comfortably collected by Blasters custodian in the 46th minute of the game ensuring that the score board remained in favour of Kerala Blasters when both teams walked out for the Half time.

With Kerala Blasters orchestrating the attack from midfield and Jamshedpur Fc closely defending each movement from the visitors, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi tried a long-range attempt in the 50th minute but missed the target marginally. Jamshedpur Fc shifted to ‘attacking mode’ in second half by introducing Ishan Pandita and Jitendra Singh on the 56th minute. 60th minute saw Ishan Pandita missing a clear chance with only Prabhsukhan Singh Gill between him and the target. Blasters also had our share of bad luck on the 66th minute when Rahul KP was unfortunate to miss the target on a pinpoint pass from Sandeep Singh into the penalty box. A header attempt in the 69th minute from Ishan Pandita and another one on by Daniel Chima Chukwu in the same minute narrowly missing the target got ‘The Red Miners’ close to scoring. Ishan Pandita again created trouble for the blasters defence again and brought down by Sandeep Singh inches away from the penalty box in the 72nd minute.

With a thin cushion of a 1 goal lead and feeling the heat at the ‘Furnace’ from the continuous attack from hosts, Blasters brought in Apostolos Giannou and Jessel Carneiro in the 76th minute replacing Dimitrios Diamantakos and Nishu Kumar respectively. Ishan Pandita knocked on the blasters goal line again in the 84th minute only to miss the target marginally. Blasters also introduced Saurav Mandal replacing Sahal Abdul Samad on the 85th minute and Adrian Luna was replaced by Víctor Mongil on the 94th minute to ensure that the hosts are kept away from scoring. And this ensured that Kerala Blasters walked away with the important 3 points in arow for the fourth time and also a clean sheet.

A Compact and Disciplined display of football from KBFC brought an end to the unbeaten streak of HFC at Gachiboli Stadium.When HFC Coach Manolo Márquez opted to go for a 4-2-3-1 formation, Coach Ivan Vukomanović opted to field Blasters unit with a 4-2-2-2 formation. With Nishu Kumar, Marko Lešković, Hormipam Ruivah and Sandeep Singh in charge of the defence unit, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi paired with Jeakson Singh in the defensive midfield role. With the local boys Sahal Abdul Samad and Rahul KP teaming up as attacking midfielders, Dimitrios Diamantakos and Captain Adrian Luna were deployed in finisher roles.

A shot from Bartholomew Ogbeche narrowly missing the target in the 7th minute got HFC close to the score line in the starting minutes itself. However, Dimitrios Diamantakos made no mistake for Blasters in the 18th minute on a rebound and found the target for the 3rd match in a row. With a one goal lead, Blasters attackers kept testing HFC defence. Rahul KP, who is proving again and again that he is a ‘CHALLANGE’ which the opponent defence needs to be worried about, made his presence felt in this match too. The man in jersey number 17 for blasters continues to fly under the radar of any defence unit with ease in game after game. A run from Rahul KP in the 20th minute got Blasters close to the score line. But, brilliant anticipation from Anuj Kumar in front of the crossbar rescued HFC. An acrobatic attempt from Bartholomew Ogbeche in the 22nd minute was stopped by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill inches away from the goal line. Blasters custodian displayed his brilliance again in the 32nd minute with a clearance when Barth Ogbeche was charging against a ball not that far away from the Blasters goal post.

Attacks swinging in both directions, Blasters were forced to replace the goal scorer Dimitrios Diamantakos with Apostolos Giannou due to an injury in the 34th minute. While Hyderabad FC leading the possession graph, Blasters came close to scoring again in the 37th minute. A header attempt from Sahal on a cross from Luna went inches away from target. With only seconds left for the half time whistle. Barth Ogbeche came close to the score line for the hosts with a header, only to miss the target again. Score board remained 1-0 for the half time whistle.

A brilliant run from a counterattack by Joel Chianese in the 51st minute failed to yield any result for the host when he chipped the ball straight in to the hands of Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. 52nd minute had action on the other end of the field. A pin pint cross from Rahul KP and a shot on target from Apostolos Giannou got Blasters fans to the edge of their seats. But, Hyderabad Custodian Anuj Kumar made sure the ball did not cross him. Rahul KP tested the Goalkeeper again in the 66th minute with a powerful long ranger and Anuj Kumar fisting the shot above the crossbar. Blasters replaced Sahal Abdul Samad with Saurav Mandal in the 73rd minute to add freshness to the game.

Aaren D’Silva failing to connect a cross inside the penalty for the hosts in the 92nd minute took away another chance from HFC. To tackle Hyderabad FC’s ‘full on attack’ mode to secure an equalizer, blasters brought in Víctor Mongil to the field replacing Adrian Luna in 93rd minute. HFC using all their arsenal with time drifting away from them, a no-nonsense defence with a compact and disciplined Kerala Blasters ensured to walk out of the field with 3 points and a clean sheet when score board remained 1-0 in favour of visitors at the final whistle.

Kerala Blasters FC successfully secured 3 points by winning against FC GOA on a 3-1 score line at Kochi.FC GOA made their message clear when Coach Carlos Peña opted to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with all four foreign players in attacking roles. On other side Coach Ivan Vukomanović opted to field Blasters unit with his effective 4-4-2 formation. Only change in the starting line-up for Men in Yellow from last match was the ‘Supersub’ from last match returning to the starting line-up with a confidence boost. Sahal Abdul Samad started instead of Saurav Mandal in the Midfield for Blasters.

With Iker Vallejo narrowly missing the target on the 4th and 7th minutes, FC GOA made their presence felt from the very first minute from kick-off. Blasters also came close to that opening goal with Sahal Abdul Samad testing Dheeraj Singh twice in the 7th minute. And a header attempt from Marko Lešković missing the target in the 8th minute by whiskers. A shot on target from Álvaro Vázquez and an ‘Olympic goal’ attempt from Edu Bedia in the 10th minute were brilliantly denied by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. With FCGOA dominating the possession chart throughout the game, a disciplined KERALA BLASTERS unit made sure that the possession remained within the Goan defence line. Combined with the Blasters defence under a brilliant performance from Marko Lešković ensured that Goa attackers are silent for major share of the match. With Nishu Kumar clearing a dangerous move from Noah Sadaoui in the 11th minute. Blasters waited patiently to get back in the game. Meanwhile an attempt from Dimitrios Diamantakos for Blasters in the 19th minute went Fractionally wide from the target.

FC GOA had their first setback on the 21st minute when Saviour Gama had to be replaced by Sanson Pereira due to an injury. A header attempt from Adrian Luna on a cross from Rahul KP missed the target in the 22nd minute keeping the scoreline at level. Rahul KP was a constant threat for the opponents as he was disturbing their defence through right wing whenever he has the ball. With the clock ticking, the inevitable happened in the 42nd minute. ‘THE MAGICIAN’ in jersey number 20 strikes for the ‘MEN IN YELLOW’. A ‘tap in goal’ from Adrian Luna got Blasters the first goal in the match and the lead. Dimitrios Diamantakos was first unlucky when a shot from him on a pass from Adrian Luna hit the near post, however time proved that the ‘Greek Snipper’ cannot be kept long from scoring. Referee pointed towards the penalty spot on the 45th minute in favour of Blasters when Dimitrios Diamantakos was brought down inside the penalty box. With FC Goa custodian Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem going in the the wrong direction, Diamantakos ensured to hit the target to increase the lead for blasters. Score board stood in favour of Blasters till half time.

Blasters registered their 3rd goal on the 52nd minute. Ivan Kalyuzhnyi made it clear that he is a player whom the opponents defence need to be worried about. A powerful shot from the ‘Ukrainian Powerhouse’ found the bottom of the net even before Dheeraj Singh could react. With 3 goals down, FC GOA fought back with all the arsenal they had. Álvaro Vázquez found the target in the 59th minute for ‘Gaurs’. But, the offline flag was up before the ball even crossed the goal line. A shot on target from Iker Vallejo in the 62nd minute was brilliantly denied by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill who stood calm and confident. 63rd minute was the time for Dheeraj Singh to display his brilliance for Goa to deny an attempt from the blasters. With repeated attempts on goal, Goa found the target on 67th minute. A header from Noah Sadaoui took the clean sheet away from Blasters.

Ivan introduced fresh legs with a double sub in the 70th minute. Apostolos Giannou and Puitea replaced Dimitrios Diamantakos and Jeakson Singh. When Adrian Luna missed the target in the 72nd minute. A brilliant attempt from Edu Bedia in the 76th minute through a freekick was denied by blasters custodian Prabhsukhan Singh Gill yet again.Rahul KP again got the blasters fans to the edge of their seats in the 78th minute with a brilliant move. Apostolos Giannou was unlucky to miss the target on a cross from Rahul KP.

Coach again went for a double substitution with bringing in Saurav Mandal and Jessel Carneiro for Sahal Abdul Samad and Sandeep Singh. Also replacing Ivan Kalyuzhnyi with Víctor Mongil on the 89th minute. Both teams came close to scoring again on the 95th and 96th minutes. When Edu Bedia missed the target on a freekick in the 95th minute, Saurav Mandal was unlucky in connecting a pinpoint pass from Adrian Luna in the 96th minute. With 3-1 score line, score board remained in favour of KERALA BLASTERS on the final whistle with the Hosts walking back with the valuable 3 points.

With Dimitrios Diamantakos opening his account for KERALA BLASTERS FC and Sahal Abdul Samad scoring twice , ‘MEN IN YELLOW’ are back in the winning track by defeating NORTHEAST UNITED FC 3-0 at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

With assistant coach Paul Groves in-charge of the team due to a suspension for coach Marco Balbul, NORTHEAST UNITED FC opted to go for a 5-3-2 formation. On other side Coach Ivan Vukomanović re-arranged the Blasters unit within his effective 4-4-2 formation. Blasters restructured the starting line-up with Sandeep Singh , Nishu Kumar and Hormipam Ruivah returning to the defence, Rahul KP, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, Jeakson Singh and Saurav Mandal taking care of the Midfield and Captain Adrian Luna joining Dimitrios Diamantakos in attack.

With both teams had their defence unit busy and effective against the opponent attack for the first 45 minutes, first half remained scoreless. Romain Philippateaux hitting the cross bar in the 8th minute was the only time when either team came close to the score line.

Second half started with a shot from Emil Benny in the 51st minute for the ‘HIGHLANDERS’ narrowly missing the target.Things changed in favour of the Blasters in 56th minute. Dimitrios Diamantakos guided ball to the net with a soft touch from an assist from Saurav Mandal.With a super sub warming up on the side-line for Blasters, score board was not going to remain the same for long. Sahal Abdul Samad replaced Saurav Mandal in the 65th minute to mark the most appearance in ISL from a player in Kerala Blasters jersey.

Blasters also replaced the goal scorer Dimitrios Diamantakos with Apostolos Giannou in attack. Aron Evans tested Prabhsukhan Singh Gill on the 71st minute with a tricky dipping volley. And presence of mind from the Blasters custodian save an attempt from Norteast United FC on 82nd minute. A dangerous run by Emil Benny from a clearance error from blasters in the 83rd minute was safely brought down by Sandeep Singh inside the penalty box. With 5 minutes more to the regular time, the super sub found the target. A goal by the Kerala deo. Assist from Rahul KP guided to goal by Sahal Abdul Samad. Blasters made a double replacement Víctor Mongil and Puitea replacing Hormipam Ruivah and Ivan Kalyuzhnyi in the 87th minute. Jessel Carneiro came in replaced Nishu Kumar with 3 minutes to the extra time.

An attempt from Rahul KP in the 95th minute was saved by Northeast United FC custodian Mirshad Michu. But score board clicked in favour of Blasters on the very next minute. Sahal Abdul Samad finding the net for the MEN IN YELLOW from an assist by Sandeep Singh. With time clicking away, final whistle was blown with KERALA Blasters FC walking with 3 points and a clean sheet.