ISL 2018-19: Kerala Blasters 1-2 Bengaluru FC – 5 Talking Points
![Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan vie for the ball [Image: ISL]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/11/179af-15414709354771-800.jpg?w=500)
Kerala Blasters have tasted their first defeat of Indian Super League season five after their 1-2 loss to Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Monday. Kerala, who came to this match after one win and four straight draws, must rue missed chances behind their defeat.
With this win, Bengaluru went on top of the table with 13 points from five matches. They are two points clear of Jamshedpur FC and NorthEast United FC, who are on 11 points each.
The match was interrupted for about half an hour due to the power failure inside the stadium, which delayed the starting of the second half.
Pressure is mounting on Kerala coach David James as the two-time finalists performed much better on their home turf but had to end up on the losing side. The home turf is seemingly a curse for them this season as they have failed to win a single game at Kochi so far.
Bengaluru went ahead in the first quarter of the game thanks to a superb finish from their captain Sunil Chhetri. Kerala didn’t take much time to equalise after Slavisa Stojanovic converted from the spot. However, Bengaluru again took the lead when Xisco Hernandez’s shot was punched away by Kerala goalkeeper Naveen Kumar but the ball deflected off Nikola Krcmarevic’s chest before going into the net.
Let us look at the five talking points from the match:
#1 Power cut forces the match to be delayed
Before the start of the second half, a certain section of the floodlights stopped working. One side of the pitch became dark and the referee R. Venkatesh decided not to resume the match until everything got sorted.
But it took more than usual time as three of four floodlight towers went off. The players had no option but to go back to the dressing room to restore some more energy. It was not frustrating for the Manjappada either as they took out their mobile phones and flashes were on immediately.
Later on, it was announced that there was shortage of power supply in the towers which forced the match to be delayed by 25 minutes.