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Kerala Blasters beat Atletico de Kolkata 2-1, in a game marked with controversy, end to end football and exciting stuff. The controversy arose in the 90th minute, when a Luis Garcia volley was denied by the referee as the ball, according to the referee did not cross the line. At this moment of time, Atletico de Kolkata were chasing the game and Garcia’s denied goal could be their equaliser.
Meanwhile, two first halves goal from Iain Hume and Gusamo, sunk the Atletico ship, in the first half itself. Although Atletico did revert back with a Fikru goal in the 55th minute, a resolute Kerala defense held back all Atletico advances.
Kerala Blasters started with their usual 4-3-3. Penn Orji was once again excluded from the starting XI, but the bombarding Nigerian did feature as a substitute. Sandesh Jhigan was once again deployed in the right back position while Stephen Pearson operated on the left side of the pitch.
The major talking point about Atletico de Kolkata’s side, was their decision to not start with the inspirational Luis Garcia. Garcia, has been one of the stand out performers in the Super League, and it was a shock to many when his name was not announced. Meanwhile, starting in a 4-2-3-1, Arnal Lilbert replaced Garcia, while Fikru led the Kolkata attack.
Atletico de Kolkata’s match was arguable over in the first half itself. A resurgent Kerala Blasters side, desperate to prove a point, scored a goal in the first five minutes of the play. Pedro Gusamo sent in a lovely through ball for Iain Hume in the 4th minute, which was successfully converted by the Candian.
The rest of the half was marked by a constant barrage of plays from both sides. Kerala Blasters matched Atletico de Kolkata in every possible department, whilst triumphing them in the minutes before the end of the first half.
Kerala Blaster once again drew blood, as a Pedro Gusamo turned goal scorer this time around. A nice long through ball launched by the inform Sandesh Jhigan found the oncoming Gusamo, who converted his chance comfortably.
Although Atletico de Kolkata, did gather back in the second half and increased their tempo, it was a defensive frailty that led to their goal in the 55th minute. A defensive error inside the ball was capitalized to its fullest by Fikru, who slotted the ball way past the imposing figure of David James.
With this win, Kerala Blaster have cemented their position in the semi final berths with 15 points. A defeat to Atletico does not change the table standings, and it remains the same with Atletico in 2nd and Kerala in 3rd.
