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Kerala Blasters held their nerve at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to emerge 2-1 winners against Bengaluru FC. The defeat meant that the Blues have consigned themselves to either a third-placed or fourth-placed finish come the end of the league stages.
The game began scrappily, although the hosts enjoyed more possession. However, against the run of play, the away side went ahead when Deshorn Brown coolly finished past Bilal Khan.
In the dying moments of the first half though, Bartholomew Ogbeche capitalized on some sluggish goalkeeping to restore parity.
Post the restart, the hosts looked the likelier outfit to score and they did so in the 72nd minute when their skipper rose to the occasion and calmly caressed his penalty into the back of the net.
Here is a look at the talking points from the match.
#5 Bengaluru and Kerala serve up a tactically intriguing first half
Bengaluru lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation at the outset and several expected them to continue playing a similar system. However, as the minutes ticked by, it became increasingly clear that the defending champions had tweaked things slightly to counter the threat of Messi Bouli and Ogbeche.
Whenever the visitors were devoid of possession, Erik Paartalu swiftly dropped into defence and acted as a man marker for Messi. Consequently, that forced the Blasters to change their modus operandi as they looked for alternative attacking options.
Moreover, the shunting of Paartalu into the rear-guard allowed Dimas Delgado and Suresh Wangjam more space in midfield. For the opening quarter of the game, the ploy seemed to have worked a charm as Bengaluru always found themselves boasting a spare man on the flanks.
However, Eelco Schattorie quickly amended his own system to cancel out the visitors’ tactics and ensured that the hosts established more of a foothold in the encounter.
Post Cido’s injury, the Dutchman shook things up and called upon Gianni Zuiverloon, with the latter slotting into a back three alongside Raju Gaikwad and Vlatko Drobarov.
In the process, the hosts were able to push their full-backs forward and attack more down the flanks with the likes of Halicharan Narzary and Sahal Abdul Samad accorded the freedom to venture in-field.
Thus, over the course of the opening 45 minutes, both managers had portrayed their tactical astuteness to match the other stride for stride. And, rather fittingly, the half ended deadlocked.
#4 Udanta’s form continues to desert him
Over the past couple of seasons, Udanta Singh has been quite influential for Bengaluru FC, meaning that he has established himself as a vital cog in the Blues’ wheel. However, that trend has failed to materialize in 2019-20, thereby posing a significant quandary for Carles Cuadrat.
A few weeks ago, the Spanish manager emphasized that Udanta retained the trust of the club and that his form was bound to change for the better. In fact, to that end, the winger even popped up with a few promising moments, immediately in the aftermath of those comments.
Yet, against Kerala on Saturday, Udanta again looked a shadow of his former self. More importantly, he seemed a player that looked entirely devoid of confidence.
At times, the forward’s dribbling let him down whereas on other occasions, he just wasn’t brave enough to make the requisite runs to open up space. However, rather alarmingly, he failed to showcase the requisite composure when accorded opportunities to make a difference.
In the first half, the Indian was released by Nili and the former bore down on goal. Bilal Khan found himself in no man’s land and had presented the winger with the chance to take the ball around the keeper or even, dink it over him. Yet, Udanta took a touch too many, meaning that the defenders crowded him out and rid the Blues of the advantage.
The pattern continued after the break as well when the winger decided to cut onto his right foot, instead of whipping the ball with his left boot towards the onrushing Nili.
Throughout the current campaign, Bengaluru FC have faced plenty of problems trying to make the net bulge. Unsurprisingly, they’ve looked too dependent on a certain Sunil Chhetri.
And, as long as Udanta’s form keeps deserting him, Cuadrat might have to think of other avenues to relieve the pressure off his talismanic striker.
#3 Bengaluru uncharacteristically indulge in defensive mistakes
Before the contest at Kochi, Bengaluru FC had conceded 9 goals from 16 fixtures, meaning that they represented the tightest defensive unit in the land. Thus, plenty expected them to hold their own, thereby making the Blasters work hard for their openings.
On the contrary though, the visitors gifted the hosts a few opportunities and the latter eventually made them pay.
In the first half, the Blues seemed to have things under control as they restricted the Blasters to shots from distance after nudging ahead. However, just on the stroke of the break, Albert Serran mis-controlled a long ball on the edge of the box.
Subsequently, he lunged at the ball to redeem himself, meaning that he hacked down Ogbeche. The latter popped up and struck a fierce drive on goal. The shot, despite being pretty central, somehow squirmed under Gurpreet, thereby awarding the home side the requisite momentum going into the tunnel.
After the break, the visitors seem to cede the initiative to Schattorie’s troops, meaning that the latter then grew from strength to strength. And, to cap off their ascendancy, Kerala won a dubious penalty post some needless shirt-pulling by Serran.
Though the decision seemed a bit harsh, the Spanish defender allowed the referee an opportunity to blow his whistle, despite seemingly having Messi contained inside the box.
The resulting spot kick was converted by Ogbeche as Kerala then propelled themselves to their first-ever victory over Bengaluru FC in the ISL.
For much of the season, the Blues have been spotless in the defensive third. However, more recently, they’ve looked slightly patchy away from home. In fact, against Mumbai City FC too, a couple of defensive errors enabled the Islanders to post a 2-0 victory at the Mumbai Football Arena.
Thus, as the campaign enters its business end, Cuadrat would hope that these games only remain the anomaly, rather than becoming the norm.
#2 Bartholomew Ogbeche saves the day, again
Throughout the 2019-20 season, Kerala Blasters have looked a side that has often lacked substance, despite boasting style in abundance. Across numerous fixtures, they’ve bossed possession, only to be on the wrong end of the result.
Predictably, their goal-scoring prowess has come under the scanner, with Messi and Ogbeche being the primary goal threats. In fact, the pair had combined for 18 of the 23 goals the Blasters had scored before Saturday, thereby highlighting the dependence on the duo.
And, against the defending champions, Ogbeche proved his worth again as he conjured a brace to inspire an improbable comeback and accord the Manjappada the joy of a triumph against Bengaluru FC.
For large swathes of the game, the striker looked a tad isolated as the visitors doubled up on Messi and rid the former of the adequate service. However, when dead ball situations presented themselves, Ogbeche stood up to be counted.
In the first half, the Nigerian unfurled a rasping drive, which somehow evaded Gurpreet whereas he displayed immense composure to tuck away his spot-kick in the 72nd minute.
Thus, despite not being at the top of his game, Ogbeche had managed to notch up a brace and ensure that his side ended off their home campaign on a high.
After all, that’s a story that has become pretty synonymous with the Blasters, hasn’t it?
#1 Kerala tease their fans with an accomplished performance
The past few months have seen Schattorie incessantly complain about injuries and refereeing as his side has stuttered and stumbled consistently. Inevitably, a good performance has been followed up by an equally dire display, meaning that Kerala have never been able to generate a head of steam.
And, those traits came to the fore on Saturday too as they produced an accomplished performance against Bengaluru FC, days after an abysmal showing at Guawahati.
Throughout the game, the Blasters looked unfazed and enjoyed dominating proceedings against the defending champions. They looked to keep the ball and were willing to spread the play.
More encouragingly, they managed the game brilliantly after Ogbeche’s penalty in the 72nd minute, thereby portraying an aspect of their game that has gone missing throughout the season.
Thus, after the dust had settled on the encounter, one couldn’t help but wonder what could’ve unfolded for the Blasters had they showcased a similar level of application for the entirety of the term.
In fact, Kerala remain the only team in the ISL to have posted victories against ATK and Bengaluru FC. Yet, they somehow find themselves marooned in the lower trenches of the standings.
And, that, above all, embodies their campaign in a microcosm.
