ISL 2024-25: Peprah spoils East Bengal’s party, earns 2-1 win for Kerala Blasters in Kochi

It was the first victory for Kerala Blasters this season and the winning goal came rather dramatically, off Kwame Peprah, with two minutes of regulation time left.

Kwame Peprah (right) came off the bench to score the late winner, which helped Kerala Blasters beat East Bengal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports / FSDL

Kwame Peprah had been injured for a good part of last season and even during his stay on the field he had been living in Dimitrios Diamantakos’ shadow.

On Sunday, the young Ghanaian stole the thunder from Diamantakos, the top scorer in the Indian Super League (ISL) last season, as he scored a late match-winner that gave the Kerala Blasters a 2-1 victory over East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

Peprah had come in just 13 minutes earlier replacing the team’s star forward Jesus Jimenez Nunez. It was the first victory for the Blasters this season and the winning goal came rather dramatically.

AS IT HAPPENED: Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal Highlights, ISL 2024-25

Rahul K. P. sent a cross from the left and Anwar Ali appeared ready to kick away the danger. However, Aimen stole it with a smart slide and sent it to Peprah, who fired it home with a left-footer.

Earlier, P. V. Vishnu, 22, gave Bengal the lead in the 59th minute and Noah Sadaoui, the recent Durand Cup’s Golden Boot winner, equalised within four minutes.

P. V. Vishnu of East Bengal FC celebrates scoring the opening goal of the match against Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kerala. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports / FSDL

After the dismal season-opener against Punjab FC, the Blasters coach Mikael Stahre had spoken about putting a lot of players higher up and that saw a lively match this evening.

And despite having two men guarding him, Diamantakos looked dangerous. He ran into the box in the 59th minute and foxed the Blasters goalkeeper Sachin Suresh with a smart cross to his right which Vishnu tapped in neatly.

But Sadaoui was quick to level the scores, racing in from the left, dodging a defender and scoring with a nice shot to the far corner.

The result:

Kerala Blasters FC 2 (Noah Sadaoui 63, Kwame Peprah 88) bt East Bengal FC 1 (P.V. Vishnu 59).