Author: KBFC-Media

When Mumbai City FC opted for 4-2-3-1 formation, Coach Ivan Vukomanović gone with his effective 4-4-2 formation with two changes from the last match. Ivan Kalyuzhnyi and Hormipam Ruivah were replaced by Rahul KP and Víctor Mongil with Sahal Abdul Samad partnering Dimitrios Diamantakos.

Visitors started attacking from the very first touch on the ball and tested the Blasters custodian when it was just 10 minutes into the game. With Lallianzuala Chhangte and Bipin Singh Thounaojam testing the Blasters defence trough wings repeatedly, Blasters could not step into the attacking football which Ivan Vukomanović’s men are known for. Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) tested his shooting skills on the blasters defence line in the 5th minute but failed to find the target. With Greg Stewart and Apuia moving up and causing troubles for the blasters defence, visitors dominated the game and possession throughout the first half. With Mehtab Singh scoring from a corner in the 21st minute and Jorge Pereyra Díaz finding the net in the 31st minute, visitors had the score board in their favour till half time.

It looked like the half time talk in Kerala Blasters dressing room showed results. Blasters slowly got the game back from the dominating Mumbai City. ‘MEN IN YELLOW’ started putting pressure on Mumbai City defence, winning balls in the midfield with the defence line more organized and dominating against Mumbai City attacks. This started to reflect in the game immediately, with a header from Dimitrios Diamantakos on a cross from Adrian Luna in the 52nd minute narrowly missing the target. His attaching partner Sahal Abdul Samad tried his luck by whipping the ball towards the Mumbai city goal line on the 53rd minute. With constant attack from blasters, Mumbai city custodian Phurba Tempa Lachenpa stood as the last line of defence multiple times. A screamer from Dimitrios Diamantakos in the 57th minute was denied only because of a brilliant save from Phurba Lachenpa. Jeakson Singh also joined the list on the 57th minute by attempting a header which could not find the target. With Rahul Kp causing trouble for the visitors, blasters kept on penetrating the Mumbai city defence.

When game was flowing towards the Mumbai city defence, visitors also made isolated attempts to bring back the pressure on blasters defence. One such attempt in the 69th minute from Mehtab Singh went away from the post. Blasters replaced Víctor Mongil and Sahal Abdul Samad with Hormipam Ruivah and Ivan Kalyuzhnyi in the 70th minute. A quick counterattack from blasters on 72nd minute almost got the hosts on the score card. A shot from Adrian Luna hit the inside post and bounces back and header attempt form Rahul KP narrowly missing then near post. Mumbai city fc also had their share of missing chances on the other end. Lallianzuala Chhangte’s shot went far away from target on 73rd minute when there was only the Blasters custodian Prabhsukhan Singh Gill between him and the goalpost. Puitea was replaced by Bidyashagar Singh in the 81st minute by blasters. A shot from Luna in the 94th minute missed the target for Blasters again. Rahul KP and Adrián Luna were replaced by Bryce Brian Miranda and Saurav Mandal to bring in fresh legs. However, the score card remained in favour of the visitors 2-0.

Though KERALA BLASTERS could not secure three points against the inform MUMBAI CITY FC on a close fight, match ended up with positive signs for the ‘MEN IN YELLOW’ from the second half.

After leading the score board for first 45 minutes of the game, ‘MEN IN YELLOW’ unfortunate not to secure a point again. When both teams were not ready to settle for anything less than 3 points, it was a match of two teams playing with calculated attacks. When Odisha FC opted for 4-3-3 formation, Coach Ivan made a slight change by moving Ivan Kalyuzhnyi behind the target man Dimitrios Diamantakos which made the formation change to 4-4-1-1.

Contrary to the full-on attaching football which Kerala Blasters is known for, Blasters played with measured moves. On the other hand, Odisha FC too played tactically by killing each move from Kerala Blasters in the midfield itself before it could progress to the attacking third. Though Jerry Mawihmingthanga found the back of the net on the 7th minute, rule book stood against him. Goal was not allowed as contact was made when the ball was under the control of Blasters custodian Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. Ivan Kalyuzhnyi tested Amrinder Singh on the 10th minute of the game for the Blasters. Whereas, Thoiba Singh Moirangthem did the same against the visitors on the 24th minute.

With attacks swinging in each direction Kerala Blasters opened the score card with a brilliant tactical goal on the 35th minute. When Adrián Luna walked towards the corner flag, the only player who was walking back from the Odisha penalty box was Harmanjot Singh Khabra. With Marko Lešković inside the box anticipating a corner, this looked like the defender was going back to his position to safeguard the defence line to tackle any counter attacks. Luna opted for a short pass to Puitea and brought the ball to open play. When players were moving back from penalty box, the man with jersey number 10 for Kerala Blasters brilliantly moved into the penalty box and remained unmarked by any Odisha players. A pinpoint cross from Luna and a header by Khabra looked like a move made to perfection from the practice ground. It could be a coincidence that Harmanjot Singh Khabra registered his name on score card against the same opponents last season too.

Blasters custodian was quick to clear a dangerous shot from Diego Maurício on the 47th minute. However, the man in jersey number 17 for Odisha FC turned the score board to ‘Square One’ for the host on the 54th minute. Jerry Mawihmingthanga was quick enough to get his boots on to a rebound inside the Kerala Blasters penalty box. After finding the equalizer, Odisha FC started testing the Blasters defence line consistently. Rahul KP replaced Sahal Abdul Samad on 60th minute for Blasters. Blasters also made a double substitution on the 64th minute when Víctor Mongil replaced Ivan Kalyuzhnyi and Nihal Sudeesh came in for Hormipam Ruivah. The very next minute Odisha also introduced fresh legs with a triple substitution. Nanda Kumar replaced by Isak Vanlalruatfela, Pedro Martin replacing Diego Maurício and Raynier Fernandes replacing Issac Vanmalsawma.

Odisha custodian was spot on in collecting a header from Dimitrios Diamantakos on a cross from Luna on the 67th minute. Very next minute Jerry tested Prabhsukhan Singh Gill for the hosts. Amrinder Singh managed to get his finger on the ball to clear an attempt from Jeakson Singh Thounaojam for Blasters on the 77th minute. Odisa replaced Thoiba Singh Moirangthem with Paul Ramfangzauva on the 80th min. A header attempt from Raynier Fernandes on the 85th minute for Odisha Fc went away from the target. But Odisha FC managed to take the lead the very next minute. A long ball clearance from Amrinder Singh on the 86th minute was guided to the net by Pedro Martin. Blasters replaced Harmanjot Singh Khabra with Nishu Kumar and Puitea with Saurav Mandal on the 87th minute. Odisha also went for their final substitution with Jerry replaced by Denechandra Meitei.

Two minutes into the extra time, an attempt from Dimitrios Diamantakos to get a pass to the penalty box was blocked by Amrinder Singh. Score board remained in favour of Odisha FC when the final whistle went out.

After scoring first goal and taking the lead within 6 minutes to the game, Kerala Blasters were unfortunate to go down for a 2-5 score line against ATK Mohun Bagan FC on Sunday night. ATK Mohun Bagan FC Coach Juan Ferrando opted for a 3-4-3 against the 4-4-2 formation from Blasters tactician Ivan Vukomanović. The men in yellow opted to start with the star performer from last match, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi with Apostolos Giannou on the bench.

With the loyal fans painting Kochi in yellow again, Kerala blasters stormed the ATK Mohun Bagan FC goal line from the very first second of the game. And this resulted in a goal with just 6 minutes on clock. After successfully winning the ball from Ashique Kuruniyan, Dimitrios Diamantakos guided it to Ivan Kalyuzhnyi who had a one two pass with Şahal Abdul Samad inside the penalty box and fount bottom of the net. With a one goal lead on the score board, Blasters kept testing ATK Mohun Bagan FC defence. Keeping ATK Mohun Bagan FC custodian Vishal Kaith busy and Ashique Kuruniyan in his new left back role struggling to mark Sahal Abdul Samad, the blasters took the visitors out of game for the first 25 min.

When it looked like the score card is going to remain same till the half time, ATK Mohun Bagan FC scored the equilizer at the 19th minute of the game. A quick counterattack against the flow of the game got them the equalizer they needed. Hugo Boumous rushed to the penalty box and passed the ball to Dimitri Petratos through a re-organizing Blasters defence. Experienced Australian made no mistake in guiding it to the net when the clock had 19 minutes more for the half time.
With both teams fighting toe to toe for the next goal and defenders tested on both ends, Manvir Singh slipping the ball through Blasters defence to find Joni Kauko on 38th minute made the score board tick again. This time for visitors which resulted in them taking the lead. Score board remained 1-2 in favour of the visitors when the half time whistle was blown.

Subhasish Bose replaced Ashique Kuruniyan for ATK Mohun Bagan FC soon after the half time. An experienced defender in back line gave the visitors more confidence in attack which resulted in a second goal from Dimitri Petratos in the 62nd minute which increased their lead. From a pinpoint pass from Liston Colaco inside the penalty box, the Australian who managed to slip through blasters defence line found the target at ease.With men in yellow down by 2 goals, Coach Ivan brought in fresh legs with a double replacement in 65th minute. When Blasters went with Rahul KP replacing Sahal Abdul Samad and Nishu Kumar replacing Harmanjot Singh Khabra, ATK Mohun Bagan FC replaced Deepak Tangri with Lenny Rodrigues. Trying to get the game back from visitors, blasters replaced Ivan Kalyuzhnyi with Apostolos Giannou on the 69th minute. This was countered by Florentin Pogba replacing Hugo Boumous for ATK Mohun Bagan FC on the 71st minute.

An individual brilliance with a blistering run and a powerful shot from Rahul KP slipped through the hands of Vishal Kaith made the score board ticking in favour of blasters. With 3-2 score line and continuous shots on target made it look like the ‘MEN IN YELLOW’ are all set for a comeback. But, soon after Lalrinliana Hnamte replying Manvir Singh on the 86th minute, visitors increased their lead through Lenny Rodrigues.

Game progressing to 2nd minute of the added time. An assist from Liston got the Dimitri Petratos registering the first hattrick in ISL 9. With 5 goals against 2, score board remained in favour of the visitors.Not a result which Kerala Blasters played for and not a result our fans wanted. But, losing is an opportunity for us from our mistakes. As coach Ivan say, ‘Football is a game of continuous learning and improvisation’.