Top 5 moments in Kerala Blasters FC history

Kerala Blasters FC is one of the Indian outfits with a rich heritage and humongous support. The supporters, affectionately known as Manjappada, travel in huge chunks to constantly back the team by shouting their lungs out every time the yellows take up the field.

The club has produced some serious talents including the likes of Sandesh Jhingan and Prasanth Karuthadathkuni over the years. The well-established players have also settled in well to bail Kerala out on numerous occasions.

The current Skipper Sandesh Jhingan has the most number of appearances for the club by taking up the field on 60 different occasions in these four years.

Former Kerala Blasters FC striker Iain Hume and the current star CK Vineeth are the highest goalscorers for the club with 10 till date.

They have qualified for the playoffs twice in four years, but have failed to make it count in the biggest stage. Even though the final hurdle has been a heavy-duty for the Kerala club, the fans and the club have shared some great moments together in the Indian Super League till date.

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#5 CK Vineeth's brace against Chennaiyin FC

Kerala Blasters FC registered their first win in the League stages against their fierce rivals Chennaiyin FC during the third edition of the Indian Super League, thanks to a stellar performance from the local hero CK Vineeth which resulted in a brace to sink the reigning champions 3-1.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring through Bernard Mendy at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, but the hosts fought back in style to secure all three points.

The Ivorian, Didier Kadio, who spent one year with the Indian outfit scored his only goal for this club by equalizing the score 20 minutes after the half-time interval.

Frustration was creeping up for the home side, but Chennaiyin FC shot-stopper Duwayne Kerr committed a howler which leads to a tap-in for CK Vineeth in the 85th minute.

The third goal was just three minutes away. German won back the ball and found the midfielder who was running all alone through the right flank to score past the woebegone Kerr who conceded the third goal of the night.

Fans will look back at this game with fond memories which got separated by the local hero CK Vineeth's brace to keep full-stop to the winless streak in the league stages against Chennaiyin FC in the first two years of the competition.

#4 Registering the first victory in the ISL against Pune City FC

It took four games for the Manjappada to witness Kerala Blasters secure their first win in this competition during the inaugural campaign. They edged Pune City 2-1 with strikes from C.S.Sabeeth and Penn Orji on 30th October 2014 at away turf.

Pune City skipper David Trezeguet was the first and only player to find the back of the net for the hosts. Kerala born CS Sabeeth strode back Kerala Blasters into the game by scoring the equalizer in the 41st minute. It was a beautifully built team move to register the 3rd goal of the season.

Former Kerala Blasters FC midfielder Penn Orji glanced one into the net to beat the Pune City goalkeeper Emanuele Belardi who could not get near to the ball. This victory was vital for the Blasters who were able to find some sort of rhythm to end this season as the runners-up.

#3 Overcoming Delhi Dynamos FC on penalties in the playoffs

Striker Belfort Kervens Fils' danced past few defenders to break the deadlock and slot into the back of the net. His goal in the playoffs helped Kerala Blasters FC carry a slender lead into the second leg against Delhi Dynamos.

Delhi star Marcelinho broke the deadlock in the 21st minute only to see the Kerala Blasters striker Ducken Nazon scored an extraordinary solo goal to regain parity in this game.

The hosts were down to 10 men when Milan Singh was sent off in the 28th minute. The aggregate lead was soon wiped off when Ruben Gonzalez Rocha scored from a set-piece to level the score during the injury time of the first half.

Kerala Blasters trio Josue Currais Prieto, Kervens Belfort and Mohammed Rafique calmly slotted the ball behind the back of the net from the penalties.

Whereas, Delhi Dynamos FC spot-kick takers Florent Malouda, Bruno Pelissari and Memo missed those to lose their tie to Kerala Blasters FC.

This saw the Kerala outfit enter into the finals, only to lose to ATK on penalties and finish as runners-up.

#2 David James' contract extension

Former Liverpool shot-stopper David James extended his contract with Kerala Blasters FC until 2021. The English international was the player-cum-manager during the first season and finished fourth in the league to take the club to the finals.

He returned to the club following the sack of Rene Meulensteen who produced a horrid start by gaining just seven points from the seven games last season.

They scored just six times and conceded 10 despite having stars like Dimitar Berbatov and Ian Hume in the front line, and Wes Brown and Sandesh Jhingan in the defence.

Upon the arrival of James to the club, he had one thing in mind - to make Kerala Blasters very tough to beat.

In the next 11 games, the Blasters secured 18 points, scoring on 14 occasions and giving away 12 goals which turned out to be a decent record.

But, that did not suffice Kerala Blasters to enter into the playoffs who were five points off the fourth place.

The blasters have made an unbeatable start to this season, by winning one and drawing the other two. The players are getting used to James' methods and he will be aiming to finish in the top four spot this campaign.

#1 Beating Chennaiyin FC to enter the finals of the inaugural campaign

Kerala Blasters FC were in a commanding position after taking a three-goal lead into the second leg against Chennaiyin FC in the playoffs.

Ishfaq Ahmed, Ian Hume and Sushant Mathew scored at Kochi to leave the Blues with a massive task to overcome in the second leg.

Things became untidy for Kerala Blasters when Mikael Silvestre headed the ball into the back of the net to give a chance to the hosts.

Defender Sandesh Jhingan scored an own goal in the 76th minute, and it was followed by Jeje Lalpekhlua's stoppage-time equalizer to level the aggregate score 3-3.

The match would have been out of Kerala's eyesight had Marco Materazzi converted the spot-kick in the extra-time.

When both the camps and the crowd were settling out for the penalty shoot-out, Stephen Pearson's extraordinary run to beat three defenders and find the back of the net paved way for Kerala Blasters to enter the finals of the inaugural campaign by winning the semi-finals tie.

However, things did not go in the way of Kerala after the side had conceded a last minute goal in the finals against ATK. Albeit, the Manjappada would be proud of some of the results en route to the finals of the Indian Super League.