Kerala Blasters vs Punjab FC, ISL 10 Highlights: KBFC 1-3 PFC, Jordan, Majcen score to register win in Indian Super League

Two second half goals by Luka Majcen and Jordan Gill sealed a well-fought win for Punjab FC, continuing its late comeback in its maiden ISL season. With 14 points from as many games, it stays just two points off a play-off spot.

The Kerala Blasters fans are walking out of the stadium before the full-time whistle -- a sight KBFC is not used to see at its home stadium. Neither is its coach Ivan Vukomanovic, who looks dejected after what was a second-best performance by his boys tonight.

Pandita wins the ball in the final third, sets up Diamantakos, who tries a grounded shot from outside the box. That is blocked by Punjab FC.

Majcen steps up for the spot-kick, tries a dummy and then shoot with his right foot, sending the goalkeeper to the other side. And the JLN Stadium is stunned to silence.

Punjab tries to attack on the counter with a floated pass in the opponent and Majcen is denied a shot by Hormipam. Second later, he earns a penalty from a KBFC hand-ball.

Kerala Blasters is looking for every possible option to find an opening -- long balls, set-pieces and through balls. But none of them look to shake a rock-solid Punjab FC defence, which is desperate for only its third win in 14 games so far.

Change in personnel for Kerala Blasters! In: Freddy, Pandita, Out: Azhar, Daisuke

Frustration is slowly getting evident for the Kerala Blasters, with Drincic almost getting into the book with a rash challenge on Majcen. 

Punjab brings in fresh legs in Juan Mera and Prashanth K, replacing Madhi Talal and Jordan Gill. It it can maintain the lead, it will now move from second-bottom to ninth in the table.

Punjab FC looks to have returned to its habit of maintaining a heavy low-block to deny attacking chances to the Blasters. It has got the lead and it looks to stop an equaliser more than scoring another at the moment. 

Diamantakos gets another chance, with a header from the box. But has has three players around him (two defenders and a goalkeeper) and his header is saved comfortably by Ravi Kumar.

Kotal threads in a through ball for Nihal and Abhishek fails to intercept. Nihal crosses for Diamantakos and Justine, who were waiting in the box but finally Punjab FC clears the ball away.

Punjab catches KBFC’s defence napping and Majcen makes a run into the final third with the ball. And this time, Sachin Suresh’s reflexes get the ball out of danger as he intercepts the ball during Majcen’s run.

Kerala Blasters attacks along the flanks, with Naocha crossing from the left. But Justine mistimes his header and Kotal’s cross from the right flies over the net, seconds later.

Punjab attacks on the counter with Mahdi, after receiving a long ball on the left flank, tries a shot on target. Sachin Suresh gets a glove on it but can only deflect it, which is headed into the net by Jordan.

Diamantakos gets the ball right in front of the box and before he could take a shot, he goes down, appealing for a foul. The referee waves off any appeal to the fury of the striker.

Daisuke tries a cross from the left and Suresh intercepts it. His header lands into the gloves of Ravi Kumar, who stepped behind the line but ensured that the ball stayed out, in his gloves. 

Meanwhile, Kotal whips in a cross for Diamantakos in the box, but Punjab gets the better of that situation, intercepting on time and putting that chance to bed.

Kerala Blasters has eight of its 10 players in the Punjab FC half, looking to force errors for another goal in what has been a riveting contest so far

Punjab FC tries to make the most out of a corner, with Suresh heading the ball fown and then Majcen heads it in. But eventually, the linesman raised the off-side flag to chalk off the goal.

Kerala Blasters tries to attack on the counter and Daisuke, the usual suspect, tries a cross from outside the box, which is easily caught by Ravi Kumar.

Diamantakos gets the ball rolling in the second half. Punjab FC starts with one substitution with Salah replaced by Lhungdim. 

A goal each from Milos Drincic and Jordan Gill keeps the contest level at half-time, with the score 1-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

Kerala Blasters looks to shoot through set-pieces, with Daisuke crossing into the centre. Salah clears and then Azhar tries a shot on the half-volley, which goes off-target.

Talal beats two KBFC players to carry the ball into the final third and threads it through for Jordan Gill. Gill beats his marker Kotal and then rattles the net to silence the home team.

Kerala Blasters is enjoying possession comfortably, waiting for a gap. Kotal then whips in a long ball for Diamantakos, which is headed out for a Kerala Blasters corner by Abhishek. Drincic heads the resulting corner, with the ball coming out after bouncing inside the line.

And the referee rules that as a goal.

Punjab FC tries to score with the long-ball approach. Jordan gets a long ball from Suresh from the back and catches Hormipam napping. However, his shot is off-target.

As the match resumes after the cooling break, Kerala Blasters begins another attack with slow build-up. Daisuke gets a pass from Daisuke, beats three PFC players and passes it to Kotal on his right. However, Kotal’s cross is intercepted by Punjab.

Kerala Blasters attacks with Rahul getting a through ball for Diamantakos. The forward crosses for Daisuke, who passes it to Naocha Singh. The final cross is saved by Punjab FC’s goalkeeper but Salah almost steers it into the net, only to clear it in the eleventh hour.

Madhi Tatal earns a free-kick just outside the penalty box and the Frenchman tries a goal from there. However, the shot goes just wide for a goal-kick to the host.

Punjab attacks on the counter this time, with Jordan drawing defenders towards him and releasing Amarjit. He then passes it to Amarjit whose shot on target is saved by Sachin.

Daisuke sets up Rahul with a wonderful floated ball and the Indian winger runs into the box and heads it over the PFC goalkeeper. However, the ball fails to get into the net in what would surely have been one of the best goals of this season.

Rahul KP gets the ball along the right. He makes a run into the box and then tries a shot on the volley, which flies over the net.

Jordan tries to attack using a long ball and almost gets into the box. However, Sachin Suresh wins the ball on a one-on-one situation to make it two good goalkeeping movements in two minutes. 

Talal tries to create something through set-pieces. He floats in a cross for Majcen in the box but Sachin gets to it first to put that development to bed.

Punjab is looking to build up with small passes through the midfield but KBFC’s heavy mid-block is containing most developments.

A similar off-side on the other side of the field this time, with Diamantakos off the line, just past Mahdi Talal, close to the Punjab FC penalty box

Jordan Gill tries to make a run behind the KBFC defence but gets caught in the offside trap and another chance for the visitors ends in nothing.

KBFC has moved into a 3-5-2 shape to contain the attacks along the wings. Vukomanovic’s KBFC usually plays a 4-4-2 and it will be interesting whether the change of plans bears any fruit after all.

Kerala Blasters tries to attack on the counter and Rahul KP runs into the box, only to be sandwiched by two PFC defenders. He goes down, appealing for a penalty, but the referee is not interested. 

Daisuke comes close to scoring for Kerala Blasters. He receives a long ball from the right, along the left flank and then cuts to his right. His right-footed curler just misses the target

Abhishek tries a long throw for Jordan, but KBFC intercepts the ball to give a corner to Punjab. Jordan takes the corner from a Talal corner kick, which flies off target.

Vukomanovic’s men are playing a high-pressing game, trying to keep the visitors corralled in their own half. But slip-ups are allowing Punjab to march forward, especially along the wings

Majcen sniffs a chance for Punjab FC, with a defensive mistake by Hormipam allowing him to barge into the final third. However, Sachin and the KBFC defense works as a unit to get the ball out of danger. 

Kerala Blasters has started on the offensive from the beginning with crosses from the flanks. But Suresh Meitei makes sure that the score remains 0-0 with a timely clearance in the box.

The Indian Super League match between Kerala Blasters and Punjab FC begins with the visiting side getting the ball rolling. PFC starts from right to left while KBFC is playing from the other side.

The players stand in a queue for the National Anthem before taking positions on the field. We are almost there in the match.

The players of both sides walk out for the final warm-ups before kick-off and the thousands of fans at the JLN Stadium cheer for their home team, in a similar way as it had done so far this season. 

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The Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 enters a new phase with the matchweek 15 kicking off with the clash between Kerala Blasters FC and Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Punjab FC resumed its ISL campaign after the mid-season break with a 3-1 victory over Bengaluru FC at home.

It was only its second win in its maiden campaign in the top-tier and the team will be drawing confidence from that to take on the Yellow Army away from home.

Kerala Blasters FC had pipped Punjab FC by a slender 1-0 margin, thanks to a Dimitrios Diamantakos penalty in the previous fixture between the two sides in New Delhi. Ivan Vukomanovic and his team will hence be looking to do the league double over Punjab FC, and in the process, become the first team to do so against them in the ISL.

Vukomanovic’s boys need to recover from the 2-1 defeat to Odisha FC, which has complicated dynamics at the top of the points table. They will be backing their odds in the comfort of their home, against a team that is yet to win in an away fixture this season.