Odisha FC vs Kerala Blasters highlights, OFC 2-1 KBFC, ISL 2023-24: Krishna brace gives Juggernauts comeback win

Odisha FC holds on and clinches a 2-1 win against Kerala Blasters. Lobera’s men reach second, equal on points with FC Goa. 

OFC booking: Narender Gahlot gets a yellow card for taking the ball away from the opponent in a bid to waste time. 

Jahouh’s freekick almost Vignesh who could have sealed the match with a close-distance header. 

Eight minutes added at the end of the second half!

OFC subs: IN- Cy, Vignesh, Aniket OUT- Maurcio, Puitea, Ralte

KBFC sub: IN- Cernych OUT- Diamantakos 

Booking: Ralte becomes the latest player to receive a yellow card. 

OFC booking: Ralte becomes the latest player to receive a yellow card. 

OFC sub: IN- Lenny OUT- Princeton

Princeton Rebello leaves the pitch with a yellow card. 

KBFC subs: IN- Pandita, Sandeep OUT- Aimen, Kotal

Diego Mauricio gets the ball at the edge of the Kerala Blasters box and uses his physicality well to keep possession. He then makes his way inside the box and shoots at goal.. The net does ripple but to Mauricio’s disappointment, it is the side-netting. 

Diamantakos and Danish combine as the former sets up the latter for a shot from the edge of the box. Danish lashes at the ball but it takes a deflection and goes out of play. 

Isak Ralte times his run to perfection down the left flank as he is played a wonderful through ball. He uses raw pace to make a darting run down the channel and then, tries to find Mauricio with the cutback. He almost does but Sachin gets to the ball to punch it away. 

KBFC subs: IN- Saurav, Justine OUT- Nihal, Daisuke

Jahouh and Krishna tries a training ground routine from a freekick as the former passes the ball down the channel for Krishna, who makes a run inside the box. But, Krishna does not time his run well and is flagged offside. 

KBFC booking: Danish gets a yellow card for his mistimed challenge on Krishna. 

Now, Odisha FC is looking to slow down the tempo of the match but trying to maintain possession inside its own half. It is the Blasters’ game to chase now. 

Amey Ranawade spots Krishna inside the Blasters box and finds the Fiji international with a pinpoint delivery from the right flank. Krishna does not waste the excellent service and times a perfect header to beat Sachin for the second time in the match. 

Odisha FC grabs the equalizer from a corner. Jahouh pings a beautiful cross inside the box from a Juggernauts corner and Krishna, completely unmarked, powers the ball into the net with his head. Game on!

Diego Mauricio with an excellent chance to grab the equalizer. He is played a through ball and is one-on-one with Sachin who came off his line. Sachin times his tackle to perfection as Mauricio cannot get enough power to his shot and the ball goes out for a corner. 

Jahouh’s freekick finds Amey Ranawade inside the box, who looked favourite to poke the ball into the net but cannot. The offside flag eventually goes up to Amey’s relief because if not for the offside flag, he would have wasted an easy chance. 

Kerala Blasters lead Odisha FC 1-0 as the second-half gets underway at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. 

Diamantakos’ 11th-minute strike keeps Kerala Blasters in a 1-0 lead against Odisha FC at the break. 

Two minutes added at the end of the first-half!

Odisha tries to play out from the back but is caught out of possession. The ball falls kindly for Danish who goes for a thunderous first-time effort. Amrinder does well to make a save with leg. 

Mauricio gets the ball at the edge of the box, cuts in and goes for a grounded effort. However, he pulls his effort wide. 

Beautiful one-touch passing football by Odisha FC as Krishan releases Mauricio on the right. Mauricio powers his way into the box and without having a proper cutback option, takes a shot from a tight angle. But Sachin was always favourite to make the save and he does. 

Roy Krishna does well to bring down the ball with a deft touch at the edge of the box. He goes for a cutback as Isak prepares to shoot. But the ball does not reach the Odisha FC player. 

As the match halts momentarily for a cooling break, Vukomanovic will be happy with his team’s performance. Blasters have been solid with their defending and has a slender 1-0 lead. However, Lobera’s Odisha is asking questions and the match is very much in the balance. 

Jahouh finds Delgado with a well-measured cross inside the box from an Odisha freekick. Delgado jumps to get a header away at goal but the effort is not on target.

It is Odisha FC doing most of the attacking right now as Kerala is pegged back in its own half. But the Blasters look compact with their defensive shape and the Odisha’s high line means that the Blasters can capitalise on the counter. 

Kotal tries to turn provider as he swings in a delicious cross from the right flank, intended for Diamantakos, who could not reach the ball in time. 

Roy Krishna almost scores a brilliant equalizer - Ralte swings a cross inside the box from the left flank. The ball reaches the far-post and Krishna meets it with an acrobatic first-time effort. The ball almost loops over Sachin and ends up inside the net. Mauricio could have also tapped the ball in but could not reach it. 

Odisha has its first chance at scoring a goal. Isak Ralte gets at the end of the cutback from the left flank. Ralte goes for a first-time shot but his effort goes straight to Sachin. 

Daisuke spots Danish’s run inside the box and slips in a good pass for him. Danish tries to shoot on the turn but is crowded out. 

Kerala Blasters makes full use of the pitch to score that one. Nihal gets the ball on the right flank and makes a dangerous run down the channel. He uses raw pace to get inside the Odisha box and rolls the ball along the six-yard box. The ball reaches Diamantakos at the far-post who puts the ball inside the net with the easiest of finishes. 

It has mainly been a midfield battle till now. Both teams show positive attacking intent but neither has been been able to carve out a clear-cut chance as of now. 

The Blasters slowly trying to make inroads into the Odisha final third. Both teams have looked defensively solid in the opening minutes of the first-half. 

Lobera’s Odisha FC makes an attacking start in front of a home crowd. No clear-cut chances yet but the intent looks positive from the Juggernauts. 

The ISL 2023-24 match between Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters is underway at the Kalimga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. 

Sergio Lobera (Odisha FC head coach): “The motivation is 200% because we are in a good position now. We know, everyone knows, the second half of the season will be more difficult because the teams changed a lot. Some clubs are improving their squads. And obviously, in the second half of the season, there are a lot of things to play for, for all the teams. And always in the history of the ISL, the second half was more and more difficult, but we need to be ready.”

Ivan Vukomanovic (Kerala Blasters head coach): “Knowing the fact that we are facing one of the best teams in the league, who is in very good shape and well-balanced, it’s the only team I’d say in the last period who were playing with consistency with the full squad.

Matches: 19

Kerala Blasters Win: 6 

Odisha FC Win: 3

Draws: 10 

Kerala Blasters Goals: 35 

Odisha FC goals: 26

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Odisha FC: Amrinder Singh (GK, C), Amey Ranawade, Narender Gehlot, Carlos Delgado, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Princeton Robello, Ahmed Jahouh, Lenny Rodrigues, Isak Ralte, Roy Krishna, Jerry Lalrinzuala.

Kerala Blasters: Sachin Suresh (GK), Pritam Kotal, Marko Leskovic, Milos Drincic, Huidrom Naocha Singh, Vibin Mohanan, Mohammed Azhar, Mohammed Aimen, KP Rahul, Daisuke Sakai, Dimitros Diamantakos(C)

Odisha FC will host Kerala Blasters FC in an exciting clash set to bring the audience to the edge of their seats at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24.

Lobera not only brought a winning mentality to the club but also propelled their success at the continental level, helping them qualify to the knockouts of the AFC Cup. Right now, the team is third in the standings, just two points behind the top-placed Kerala Blasters FC. 

A victory in this fixture will help them pip the Ivan Vukomanovic-coached side in the standings, whereas a positive result for the Kochi-based outfit will help them build distance with one of their nearest competitors.

Kerala Blasters FC, on the other hand, have the impeccable advantage of entering the halfway mark of the campaign at the top spot. Powered by dynamic forwards and a sturdy defence, they produced impressive performances often riding on the support that they garner at home. 

When and where will the ISL 2023-24 group stage match between Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters kick-off?

The ISL 2023-24 group stage match between Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters will kick-off at 7:30 PM IST, Friday, February 2 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. 

Where can you watch the ISL 2023-24 group stage match between Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters?

The ISL 2023-24 group stage match between Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters will be live telecasted in the Sports18 network. The game will be live-streamed on JioCinema.

Where can you watch the Odisha FC vs Kerala Blasters game outside India?

The game will be shown on OneFootball.