East Bengal FC roll over Kerala Blasters to keep their ISL 2023-24 knockout hopes alive

After securing a playoff spot with a draw in their previous clash, nine-man Kerala Blasters FC sunk to a 2-4 defeat at the hands of knockout hopefuls East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, on Wednesday, April 3.

While Fedor Cernych pulled KBFC ahead in the initial stages, once the Red and Gold Brigade were awarded the numerical advantage, they never looked back. With the win, they have taken a colossal step towards earning a knockout berth.

As has been the case throughout the season, despite securing an anaconda-like grip on the Blasters to strangle their attack initially, East Bengal had a brain-fade moment which undid all their efforts. After some pedestrian passes from their backline, the ball fell to Rahul KP near the halfway line. While you'd expect the winger to go on one of his signature runs, he threaded an inviting pass, testing Alexsandar Pantic. The Serbian center-back froze with Fedor Cernych breathing down his neck, and Prabhsukhan Singh Gill's fumble didn't aid the visitors.

The ball popped for Cernych and he was left with an open net to tuck the ball into. Twenty-three minutes into the match, East Bengal were already left chasing the game. But the penetration that Sayan Banerjee, Vishnu PV, and Naorem Mahesh Singh provided with their wily footwork kept the hosts on their toes. None of them troubled the Kerala defense in a telling manner until Jeakson Singh received a second yellow for a reckless foul. With their defensive midfielder given the marching orders, there was a bit of vulnerability in the KBFC backline.

Four minutes into the additional time of the first half, Cleiton Silva pinged a delicious pass in the path of Vishnu, who was gunning into the box. Playing against his hometown club, the winger tried to walk the ball around the goalkeeper, but Karanjit completely wiped him out. Unexpectedly, Saul Crespo stepped up to take the spot-kick instead of their regular penalty-taker. A slight pause, an overeager dive from Karanjit, and the Spaniard rolled the ball into the net. The parity had been restored and the Yellow Army fell silent.

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East Bengal FC capitalize on the second-half chaos to down Kerala Blasters

East Bengal started the second half carrying over the intensity and restricted Kerala Blasters to occasional counterattacks. Ivan Vukomanovic's men aren't too shabby in that department, and it showed when Daisuke Sakai's effort hammered into the crossbar in the 60th minute.

But soon the relentless attacking pressure from the away outfit overwhelmed the Blasters and they ended up gifting the lead. Marko Leskovic was caught napping and Aman CK oozed composure as he danced into the box before squaring the ball to Crespo, who slotted the ball inside the net with a first-time finish.

More chaos unfolded as Kerala players lost their calm in the middle. Naocha Singh was shown a straight red for headbutting Aman and the hosts were left with just nine players. The final 10 minutes were an absolute frenzy as Naorem Mahesh Singh's curling effort was deflected into his net by Daisuke. Another own goal was on the cards in the 84th minute as Hijazi Maher, in a bid to intercept a cross, nodded the ball into the EBFC net. The scoreline read 2-3 and there was still some tension building.

Finally, Mahesh ensured the three points without any further drama when he hammered the ball into the roof of the net. As the referee blew the final whistle, East Bengal catapulted to the seventh position, with 21 points from 20 outings. Next, the Torchbearers face Bengaluru FC, who currently occupy the final playoff spot in the standings.