What do you think about the referee, asked a frustrated Adrian Luna of Kerala Blasters after the 1-1 draw against the bottom-placed SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan, Mormugao, on Sunday night.
That summed up the mood in the Blasters camp for the Kochi team had much reason to be disappointed. Its Spanish forward Alvaro Vazquez’s attempt, in a goalmouth melee in the 15th minute, was first ruled as a goal, but disallowed a few seconds later.
Blasters had the advantage as they moved towards the goal but the referee R. Venkatesh had spotted an Amarjit Kiyam handball just outside the box and had blown the whistle.
Confusion
But as the ball moved forward, Vasquez sent it into the net and the referee whistled again.
That caused confusion and much controversy and after a brief discussion with the assistant referees, Vazquez’s goal was disallowed.
East Bengal went into the lead 20 minutes later with Australian Tomislav Mrcela guiding a long throw from Raju Gaikwad into the net.
Blasters got the equaliser in the 44th minute and this time Vazquez’s attempt, from the edge of the box, hit Mrcela’s head before going into the goal. It was first given as an own goal by Mrcela but was later credited to Vazquez.
After the lively first half, the second half failed to live up to expectations. Despite Uruguayan midfielder Adrian Luna’s hard work, Blasters could not find the match-winner.
Strong defence
East Bengal also put up a strong defence and managed to get away with a draw, the third for both the teams.
Blasters’ goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill stood out, stopping many an East Bengal attempt in the match.
Blasters moved up a rung, to seventh, while East Bengal remained at the bottom.
The result: SC East Bengal 1 (Mrcela 37) drew with Kerala Blasters 1 (Vazquez 44).
Today’s match: Hyderabad FC vs NorthEast United FC.
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