Kerala Blasters vs Bengaluru FC: Yellow Army edge past the Blues 3-2 in ISL 2022-23
Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) narrowly negated a gallant Bengaluru FC (BFC) side to seal a 3-2 victory at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday, December 11. Goals from Marko Leskovic, Dimitrios Diamantakos, and Apostolos Giannou inspired a comeback win for the Yellow Army.
Right from the opening exchanges, the Blasters emerged as the dominant outfit, controlling the proceedings. Ivan Vukomanovic's side had a couple of half chances, but it was Bengaluru FC who pulled ahead against the run of play.
Skipper Sunil Chhetri was through on goal with a long ball from deep but he was brought down by KBFC custodian Prabhsukhan Singh Gill inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Chhetri calmly converted the resultant penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way.
Full-time scenes at Kaloor! ๐
#KBFCBFC #เดเดจเตเดจเดพเดฏเดฟเดชเตเดฐเดพเดเดพเด #KBFC #KeralaBlasters https://t.co/WxXNmf2Hcp
Rather than being stunned by the randomness of the goal, Kerala upped the ante in the hope of restoring parity. Dimitrios Diamantakos led the fightback, creating an opportunity almost immediately. The 29-year-old laid the ball off for Rahul KP, who managed to slash the glorious opportunity wide.
In the 25th minute, KBFC were rewarded for their relentless pressure as Marko Leskovic pulled them level on terms. Adrian Luna curled in a dipping freekick that thumped into the crossbar and the Blasters did well to win the rebound. Sandeep Singh drilled a delicious cross into the box. Leskovic was the first to get to the ball before nudging it past the keeper.
Once the Blasters were back in the game, they continued to push forward. In the 43rd minute, Diamantakos gave the hosts a much-awaited lead. After a phase of intricate football from the home side, Luna was sent through down the left flank and whipped in a low cross. The Greek forward arrived in the box with a perfectly timed run and smashed the ball into the top corner.
Kerala went into the half-time break with just a one-goal lead in return for their extended dominance throughout the period.
Kerala Blasters FC show great maturity to seal the victory against Bengaluru FC
Bengaluru FC, hungry to regain the lead, started the second half strongly. Simon Grayson brought on Parag Shrivas to replace Prabir Das. Meanwhile, Javi Hernandez kept pulling the strings for BFC in the middle of the park.
Serving it hot! ๐ฅต๐
#KBFCBFC #เดเดจเตเดจเดพเดฏเดฟเดชเตเดฐเดพเดเดพเด #KBFC #KeralaBlasters https://t.co/23mhYAP6tz
However, Apostolos Giannou gave Kerala Blasters some breathing space when he scored in the 70th minute. Dimitrios Diamantakos spearheaded a counter-attack and put in a lovely pass for Apostolos Giannou, who was through on goal. The 32-year-old forward went past the keeper and then slotted it in.
Just when it seemed like Kerala Blasters were running away with the game, Javi thumped a stunning volley from the edge of the box to make the scoreline 3-2. Bengaluru FC had a sniff of a comeback but Vukomanovic's team defended brilliantly to bag all three points.
Following the victory, Kerala Blasters FC are up to fourth in the league standings, while the loss keeps Bengaluru FC in ninth.