Live Chat
online
Create
Phew!! That had everything - the occasional fight, sloppy defending mixed with some absolutely superb stonewalling (especially from Hughes and Hengbart). It had penalty claims waved away, dives that went unrewarded and some superb goals.
It was end to end right from the start, but Kerala deserved to edge it - they had the vast majority of the possession, and created much more chances than the home side. Coppell's side are on the way up - they are still sloppy, and very rough around the edges - but they are certainly improving as the season progresses.
Zico, on the other hand, has a proper challenge on his hands here. His Goa side are rooted at the bottom, and do not look like they are moving back up anytime soon.
It has been an absolute pleasure covering this along with you guys! Thank you for reading and for the mails (keep 'em coming)!
Anirudh Menon signing out!
Toodle-ooo!
Kervens Belfort in all his majesty!
A stunning strike from Kervens Belfort is turning out to be the winner for @KeralaBlasters as things stand. #GOAvKER #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/24hah28yCd
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) October 24, 2016
95' Goa are a shambles. Roy kicks the ball straight back to Nandy. Sigh.
93' Nandy comes out and claims the ball confidently. Goa are not getting a foothold in this!
92' OH HO HO HO!! FIGHT FIGHT!! NAZON AND DUMAS ENGAGE IN HANDBAGS. They get booked for their silliness. Grow up, you two!
91' Nazon breaks through on goaaaal.... but Gaikwad puts in an excellent tackle!
Six minutes added on!!! Zico looks like he wishes he had a shovel and could dig a hole for himself. Sad to see such a great champion look so deflated.
89' Freekick for Goa. Everyone is pouring forward. IT IS NOT GETTING PAST HENGBART THOUGH. TOWERING HEADER FROM THE FRENCHMAN
88' SUBSTITUTION - Rafique OFF, Ishfaq Ahmed ON
87' Rafique is being stretchered off after a collision with Dumas.
85' Kerala are in the mood now! Mehtab Hossain runs past two Goan midfielders with nonchalant ease. That was a superb run, but it comes to an end soon enough. The Goan crowd has fallen eerily quiet now
Belfort runs at a backtracking Arnolin, he creates a bit of space and smacks an unstoppable drive into the near corner of the goal. THAT WAS SUPERB FROM THE HAITIAN! WOW!
81' OH OH OH OH! NAZON!! ARNOLIN COMES UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE HAITIAN AND HE HEADS THE BALL ONTO HIS OWN POST. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SPECTACULAR OWN GOAL!
80' Chopra is in pain and is being stretchered off. Duckens Nazon comes on in his stead.
79' OH CHOPRA YOU BLONDE MESSI WANNABE!!!! He strolls in behind Dumas and Arnolin (the Goa defence simply went to sleep there) and one-on-one with the keeper, he smacks it at saveable height! Roy saves it superbly. THAT REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN 2-1 FOR KERALA
78' SUBSTITUTION - Pratesh Shirodkar OFF, Romeo Fernandes ON. Another local boy on, and the crowd ROARS ITS APPROVAL.
77' Cesar springs the offside trap finally! He turns on a dime, and gets a snapshot out rapidly! It flies juuuust wide of Nandy's near post
Hughes has get his head all bandaged up after he started bleeding after an accidental collision of heads with Robin Singh just before he got subbed off. The North Irishman is a TOUGH, TOUGH, man
75' SUBSTITUTION - Robin Singh OFF, Mandarrao Dessai ON. The local lad is an exciting talent and he has the potential to make things happen
74' Chopra has a blast from distance. It was more like a water filled cannon shooting. The ball simply dribbled out of play
73' Chopra puts the ball down, but Josu kicks it in an attempt to surprise Roy. The shot has neither the power nor the direction to trouble the Goa goalie.
72' Chopra is tripped up by the until then excellent Pratesh Shirodkar. The Goa midfielder is booked for his troubles.
On reflection, and on them showing a slow-mo replay on the TV, I have to say I need to apologise to the man in Pink. He got that one spot on. Bad, Bad, Boy Cesar - That was a dive!
70' HOW IS THAT NOT A PENALTY? Julio Cesar turns on a 50 paise coin and Hengbart appears to trip him up
68' Robin Singh crosses the ball right into Nandy's hands. At the other end, Jhingan passes a through ball straight to Roy in the Goa goal. THE ONLY WAY IS UP!
66' That was a like-for-like substitution. Boris enters the ref's book immediately. He lets Shirodkar know he's there with a hideously clumsy tackle.
65' SUBSTITUTION - Boris Kadio ON, Azarack Mahamat OFF
Nandy is down and receiving treatment. I think he rammed against the post and that would have HURT
62' OOOOOOH CESAR!!!!! HE WHACKS IN A SUPERB FREEKICK THAT BOUNCES AWKWARDLY IN FRONT OF NANDY. The Kerala goalkeeper does well to pat it away. Trindade slams the rebound into orbit.
60' Right old Nostradamus I am, Just as I type that nothing is happening, Sandesh Jhingan embarks on a jinking run straight through the heart of the Goan midfield. Trindade takes that as a personal insult and puts in a SUPERB tackle that takes out ball, and man. Goa try to build up their attacking rhythm again
59' Nothing of any note is happening
57' Josu swings in a hopeful ball into the box. It's as rubbish as his ability to control his temper
55' Josu is a lucky, lucky, boy. He gets pissed off by something Cesar has said and walks right into him - the headbutt motion alone would have been enough to get him sent off anywhere in Europe. Here, he escapes with a YELLOW. Cesar, of course, milked it to the hilt - there was almost minimal contact there. Josu needs to keep that temper in check
54' Oh my! Mohammed Rafique proves I am no Gary Neville by turning sweetly on the halfway line and embarking on an adventurous run. Gaikwad and Richarlyson are having none of that though, and it's back to scrappiness
53' Just as I type that, Cesar whacks a brilliant effort just inches away from the post
52' Now that both sides have scored, that sense of urgency that permeated the first half is slowly dissipating.
50' Goa try to pry open the Kerala defence, but it's just not happening for the home side
49' Zico's decision to batten down the hatches is looking unwise right now. Lucio is a superb player, but he is no Jofre, is he?
47' Kerala and Goa are taking turns here to punch each other senseless (figuratively, of course). This is brilliant end to end stuff!
Rafique breaks forward on the right wing, after being put in by a superb pass from Mehtab Hossain, before putting in a tantalizing cross between the goalkeeper and Rafi is on hand to pass the ball into the net. Beautifully worked goal from Kerala. WHAT A START TO THE SECOND HALF!!!
ZICO IS SHUTTING UP SHOP ALREADY???? WHAT DID THAT 1982 WC LOSS DO TO THAT MAN?
Live Chat
online
Stick around, though, there is a lot of excellent post-match reading come your way!