Kerala Blasters FC vs FC Goa: Who won yesterday's match?
The resurgent Kerala Blasters FC had to settle for a 1-1 draw against a 10-man FC Goa side in the 68th match of the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) Season at the GMC Bambolim Stadium in Goa.
Rahul KP equalized for Kerala Blasters FC in the second-half but the team, as a whole, was quite wasteful as the Gaurs managed to hold on to a point.
Kerala Blasters FC pressed high for the initial few minutes and almost drew a gift from FC Goa goalkeeper Naveen Kumar in the fifth minute.
Naveen couldn’t sort out his feet to clear the ball but Gary Hooper failed to control it on time. This allowed Ivan Gonzalez to clear the chance.
At the other end, FC Goa were unlucky to not go ahead as Jorge Ortiz Mendoza’s fierce shot struck both the posts and crossbar before going out.
This strike came after a fantastic team move which saw Alberto Noguera play a chipped pass to set up Ortiz.
FC Goa were handed a massive blow when James Donachie had to be subbed off after sustaining what looked like a hamstring injury.
Just a minute later, they went ahead as Ortiz’s free-kick from the left flank took a deflection off Sahal Abdul Samad to beat Albino Gomes.
With four minutes to go in the first half, it seemed like Bakary Kone had equalized for Kerala Blasters FC after a nervy Naveen Kumar fumbled a corner-kick. However, the goal was over-ruled after consultation with the assistant referee as the ball hit Kone’s hand before going into the net.
In the second half, there were a few half chances for both the teams but they couldn’t convert it into goals. However, Kerala Blasters FC did equalize in the 57th minute as Rahul KP made it two goals in two matches.
The quick forward raced to the far post and headed a Facundo Pereyra corner-kick past Naveen Kumar to get his side back in the game.
Kerala Blasters FC could have quickly taken the lead but Sahal Abdul Samad ran to a dead end when the team had a three versus three opportunity during a counter-attacking move.
Kerala Blasters FC got another advantage when Ivan Gonzalez was sent off in the 66th minute.
The FC Goa defender got a yellow card for his soft foul on Gary Hooper. However, the referee Ranjit Baksi was forced to turn it to a red card after Ivan touched him while remonstrating about the first yellow card.
Five minutes later, Sahal Abdul Samad managed to squeeze out a low ball to Gary Hooper but the Englishman decided against taking a shot and passed to his right as a fantastic chance slipped away.
The game became very open in the final few minutes but the likes of Sandeep Singh and Mohamed Ali were on the spot with their defending for both teams.
Meanwhile, Hooper had another big miss when he decided against taking the shot with Naveen Kumar far outside the box. However, Hooper passed the ball to Puitea who sent his cross beyond the touchline.
These missed chances meant that Kerala Blasters FC had to be satisfied with a point.
ISL 2020-21, KBFC vs FCG: Who was the Hero of the Match?
Kerala Blasters FC right-back Sandeep Singh was named as the ‘Hero of the Match’ for his superb performance against a creative FC Goa side.
Sandeep was quite superb against Bengaluru FC in the last game and he had to back it up yet again.
The 25-year-old had a tough task against FC Goa as their players tend to switch positions constantly. However, he was up to the task and registered three tackles, two clearances and one interception.
The Manipuri defender also bombed up the flank to provide over-lapping runs to Facundo Pereyra.