ISL: KBFC vs OFC, Highlights: Kerala Blasters record first win, get past Odisha 2-1

Alvaro
Vazquez
(62nd)
and
substitute
Prasanth
Karuthadathkuni
(85th)
scored
second-half
goals
to
hand
the
yellow
shirts
their
first
victory
in
11
months.
For
Odisha,
Nikhil
Raj
—
in
for
Javi
Hernandez
—
pulled
one
back
in
second-half
stoppage
time.

Attacking
Adrian
Luna
was
brilliant
throughout
the
game
and
was
instrumental
in
both
the
goals.

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Courtesy
the
result,
Kerala
rise
to
sixth
in
the
points
table
with
five
points
from
four
games.
Odisha,
meanwhile,
remain
on
third
having
six
points
from
three
outings.

Kerala
boss
Ivan
Vukomanovic
went
for
a
4-4-2
formation
while
Odisha
counterpart
Kiko
Ramirez
opted
for
a
4-2-3-1
formation.

Kerala
started
on
the
front
foot,
Sahal
Abdul
Samad
warming
Odisha
keeper
Kamaljit
Singh’s
gloves
early
on.
Minutes
later,
skipper
Jessel
Carneiro
swung
in
a
delightful
ball
into
the
box
which
was
cleared
for
a
corner.

Adrian
Luna
tried
his
luck
from
a
free
kick
in
the
seventh
minute,
forcing
Kamaljit
to
dive
to
his
left
and
deny
the
Uruguayan.
Odisha
got
their
first
real
chance
in
the
12th
minute
when
Aridai
Cabrera
bombed
down
the
left
flank
and
set
Javi
Hernandez
up,
but
the
Spaniard’s
effort
fizzed
over
the
bar.

Kerala
continued
to
have
the
upper
hand
as
Thoiba
Singh
was
booked
for
a
challenge
on
Luna.
Against
the
run
of
play,
Javi
almost
scored
with
a
long-range
effort
after
spotting
Albino
Gomes
standing
well
outside
his
line.

Moments
after
the
water
break,
Vincy
Barreto
was
marginally
offside
after
being
through
on
goal.

For
Odisha,
who
were
kept
under
the
cosh
by
Kerala,
full
back
Hendry
Antonay
attempted
an
audacious
long-ranger
which
dipped
at
the
top
right
corner
but
Albino
was
on
hand
to
parry
the
ball
over
the
bar.

At
halftime,
both
teams
were
level
but
the
men
in
yellow
bossed
proceedings.

The
second
half
started
in
the
same
vein
with
Kerala
ruling
the
roost.
Sahal
looked
in
great
touch
from
the
off,
dancing
his
way
past
defenders
inside
the
box
only
to
be
thwarted,
but
the
ball
fell
kindly
for
Luna
whose
effort
went
wide
of
the
bar.

Luna
was
in
the
thick
of
things
again
just
after
the
hour
mark,
and
this
time
his
through
ball
found
Vazquez
who
timed
his
run
to
perfection.
The
Spaniard
ran
30
yards,
rounded
the
keeper
and
put
the
ball
in
the
back
of
the
net.

Three
minutes
after
the
goal,
Kerala
replaced
Barretto
with
Nishu
Kumar
while
Odisha
threw
in
Gaurav
Bora
for
Thoiba.

Vazquez
could
have
doubled
his
and
the
team’s
tally
in
the
67th
minute
after
being
set
up
beautifully
by
Sahal,
but
his
low
effort
was
blocked
by
Kamaljit.
Daniel
Lalhlimpuia
replaced
Jerry
Mawihmingthanga
as
Odisha
looked
for
an
equaliser.

Kerala
suffered
a
setback
when
Albino
went
down
after
taking
the
goal
kick
and
had
to
be
taken
off.
India
U-23
custodian
Prabhsukhan
Gill
replaced
him
as
Sahal
also
went
off
after
a
stellar
show,
with
Prasanth
Karuthadathkuni
replacing
the
national
team
midfielder.

Midfielder
Prasanth’s
moment
to
saviour
came
five
minutes
to
the
final
whistle
when
he
dinked
a
perfectly
weighed
Luna
ball
past
the
keeper
after
a
lovely
run
off
the
Uruguayan.

Raj
scored
a
late
goal
for
Odisha
but
it
did
not
matter
in
the
end.

Source:
ISL
Media