With about 30,000 raucous fans constantly roaring, egging their side, Kerala Blasters, on for every single game, the rest of the ISL teams find Kochi to be a force shield that’s tough to breach. This season, before Monday, Kerala were undefeated in both their home games. Last season, they lost just two of their nine games at home. In 2016, they were undefeated in eight games out of nine.
So, Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat wasn’t merely being respectful of the opposition when he, on the eve of the contest against the Blasters, said “it’s going to be difficult to get some points here.”
Like Bengaluru, Kerala, too, were on an undefeated streak. Under their manager, David James, they started their campaign with a victory. But the next four games ended up in frustrating draws. So, they were keen on breaking the streak with a win against one of the best sides of the tournament at home. Bengaluru FC, hence, needed a moment of magic to steal three points from Kochi.
Moment of madness
Bengaluru did leave Kochi with three points. But the victory didn’t result from a moment of magic, the winner – an own goal – was scored in a chaotic fashion.
Both teams, at 1-1 after the first half, created chances in the second period to pull away. In the 81st minute, Miku, from the byline, passed the ball to Xisco Hernandez, who blasted the ball towards the goal. Kerala goalkeeper Naveen Kumar did his best to clear the ball away but it deflected off Krcmarevic and went back into the net.
Only eight minutes ago, Cuadrat had brought Xisco in to replace Juanan.
“We have talented players on the bench and we asked them to help us. At that moment, we decided to put Xisco in midfield as Juanan was not feeling alright. And Xisco was involved in the action that gave us the goal,” said Cuadrat after the match.
Conceding late goals
This isn’t the first time in the season, wherein the Blasters have conceded a late goal. Delhi’s Andrija Kaludjerovic scored the equaliser for his team in the 85th minute. Mumbai City’s Pranjal Bhumij equalised in the 90th minute to deny the Blasters’ victory at home. So, Monday’s own goal in the last 15 minutes ought to bother James as his side continues to be sixth place in the points table.
Another statistic that would concern James more is his team’s conversion numbers, especially in the last two games. On Monday, the Blasters had nine shots at goal – three of them on target – but scored only once. In their previous game against FC Pune City, James’ men had a whopping 21 shots at goal but scored only one goal.
In fact, this statistic is what separate the two teams which were in action on Monday. The defence and midfield of both teams are evenly matched, more or less. But Bengaluru’s finishing, as usual, has been top-notch. With 10 goals from 51 shots, they have the best conversion rate in the season. Whereas, Kerala have 91 shots on goals from six games and have just eight goals to show for their effort.
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