Kerala Blasters FC vs SC East Bengal - Who won yesterday's ISL 2021-22 match?
Kerala Blasters FC played hosts to SC East Bengal in the return leg fixture of the Indian Super League (ISL). The two teams met at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Monday.
Kerala Blasters FC were bent on making a comeback after going down against Jamshedpur FC in their previous match. However, Ivan Vukomanovic's side lost their edge after coming back to play since the Covid-19 outbreak in the camp.
The build-up in the defensive third to their one-touch combination play in the final third seemed to have gone out of touch. As in the case of the Red and Gold Brigade, the ISL team were victims of a loss against Odisha FC. They had a good number of chances to take the tie away from their opponents but failed to do so.
Both coaches had set up their respective sides in a 4-4-2 formation. Chances were created at both ends but nothing came of them due to a lack of the final touch.
SC East Bengal's Antonio Perosevic looked lethal on the right flank as the Croatian continued to knock on the doors of the Kerala Blasters FC defense. The Tuskers were without their regular full-backs and that played against them. Sanjeev Stalin and Sandip Singh were on the teamsheet in place of Harmanjot Singh Khabra and Nishu Kumar, who were out with knocks.
However, Vukomanovic's side were solid in defense and did not allow the Red and Gold Brigade to capitalize on their shortcomings. Kerala Blasters FC's utilization of the flanks was much less compared to their previous outings. That negatively affected the side's intentions going forward.
Click here to view the ISL results.
Enes Sipovic's goal let Kerala Blasters FC edge past SC East Bengal
Jorge Pereyra Diaz showed why Kerala Blasters FC weren't able to get a positive result in his absence. The striker was extremely comfortable on the ball and took on defenders with ease. His attempt was the starting point for the team's goal.
Diaz's shot was cleared by Sankar Roy resulting in a corner. Puitea stepped up to take it and delivered an in-swinger that was headed into the net by Enes Sipovic to give Ivan Vukomanovic's side the lead.
Moments later Antonio Perosevic almost bagged the equalizer at the other end. His volley was spot on but Prabhsukhan Gill was in the right place and took the power out of the shot before gripping the ball.
Both coaches made changes to their setup in order to push harder and achieve what they set out to do. However, SC East Bengal's changes were inefficient as the players who came on did not have too much game time before this. They lacked the sting to cause any damage to the opposition.
The Red and Gold Brigade had a golden opportunity when Fran Sota received the ball with the defender to his side. However, the Spaniard misplaced the shot well over the crossbar, much to the surprise of his coach.
The match ended with Ivan Vukomanovic's side coming out on top. The win puts the Tuskers back into the top 4.