This is Sportstar's blog/highlights of the ISL 2020-21 encounter between Kerala Blasters FC and Jamshedpur FC in Goa on Wednesday.
That brings us to the end of our ISL coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow when Hyderabad FC takes on Bengaluru FC. [ MATCH PREVIEW ] Until then, it's goodnight from us!
MATCH REPORT |
Kerala Blasters FC full-back Sandeep Singh claims the 'Winning Pass of the Game' award, while his teammate and Indian forward, Sahal Abdul Samad, takes home the 'Player of the Match' honour.
JFC manager Owen Coyle: We were quite comfortable in the game. The 15 minutes at the end of the first half belonged to Kerala. Not taking anything away from our opponent, but we gifted chances too. We lost a few games on the bounce. We really wanted a win but a point keeps us in the hunt for a playoff spot. We missed our skipper (Peter Hartley). (Nerijus) Valskis is a No. 9. He had a great chance early on but unfortunately he was not able to finish it. If you look at our games, he's very influential. Maybe if quality of crosses improve, he will be back to form in no time. I think we could've played better. My players perform well under pressure, I back them.
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KBFC forward Jordan Murray: It's probably the most frustrating game I've ever played as a centre forward. I don't know what to say. But missing so many chances was bad. We've started believing a little more. We were unlucky early on. It's obviously about winning games convincingly. But those draws, and 1-0 wins give us hope. If we look at the reverse leg, we had to chase the game, but still won. However, this time we were on top. Both Gary (Hooper) and myself were constant threats up front. It was tricky to not have our gaffer (Kibu Vicuna) on the touchline. We talked about that before the game. But we have a team which can adapt to any situation.
Post match reactions from both the camps coming up next.....
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS :
With the draw, both Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters FC, with 15 points from 14 games, move above Bengaluru FC in the 2020-21 ISL standings. JFC currently occupies the seventh spot, while KBFC is eighth.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpur FC's woeful run continues. The Men of Steel are so low on confidence and are on a five-game winless run. The likes of Nerijus Valskis, Aniket Jadhav and Aitor Monroy are struggling for form.
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Kerala Blasters FC will be extremely disappointed tonight. The team had so many chances to score, but just couldn't find the winning goal. However, it's undefeated streak extends to five matches now.
AND IT'S FULL-TIME! FINAL SCORE: KERALA BLASTERS FC 0 - 0 JAMSHEDPUR FC!!!
90+3' CLOSE! One final Kerala Blasters FC attack on the cards here. Costa Nhamoinesu plays a through ball towards the substitute Prasanth, who cuts it back for Bakary Kone at the edge of the box. As Kone gets ready to shoot, JFC full-back Narender Gahlot makes a crucial block.
90' Four minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the second half! Sandeep Singh plays a good cross into the box from the right flank. But once again the Jamshedpur defence is alert.
87' CORNER FOR KBFC! JFC full-back Narender Gahlot did extremely well to dispossess Seityasen Singh in the final third. Sahal Abdul Samad will take the set-piece for Kerala. However, his cross into the middle is cleared away by Mobashir.
84' CHANCE FOR JFC! Ricky Lallawmawma receives the ball on the left wing and sprints towards goal. But he puts too much power on his final cross as the ball goes over Kerala keeper Albino Gomes for a goal-kick.
81' DOUBLE CHANGE FOR KBFC! Prasanth Karuthadathkuni and Juande are the players brought in by coach Ishfaq Ahmed, while Rohit Kumar and Gary Hooper are the players taken out.
78' SUBSTITUTION! Finally, we have Kerala Blasters FC's first change on the night. Lalthathanga Khawlhring makes way for Seityasen Singh in the middle.
76' AND IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL COOLING BREAK OF THE MATCH!
73' YELLOW CARD! Jamshedpur FC midfielder Aitor Monroy is the first player to be booked by the referee tonight. He brought down Kerala Balsters' Jordan Murray from behind with a silly tackle.
71' ANOTHER JFC CHANGE! Farukh Choudhary makes way for Aniket Jadhav in the middle. Coyle is shouting out instructions to his players.
69'FOUL! In an attempt to rush past Jessel Carneiro on the right wing, Jamshedpur FC winger Farukh Choudhary pulls down his marker. The referee awards Kerala Blasters FC a free-kick.
66' OFFSIDE! Stephen Eze executes the offside trap to perfection for Jamshedpur FC. Kerala Blasters FC's attacking duo looked menacing there but this is another missed chance.
63' FIRST SUBSTITUTION OF THE GAME! Jamshedpur FC manager Owen Coyle decides to bring in Mohammad Mobashir to replace Seiminlen Doungel on the field.
60' CHANCE FOR KBFC! Lalthathanga Khawlhring sends in a cross into the box from the right flank. Gary Hooper gets to it. But his attempted header on target goes way over the bar.
58' Both the coaches -- Owen Coyle (Jamshedpur) and Ishfaq Ahmed (Kerala assistant) -- are extremely animated on the sideline right now. No yellow cards or substitutions so far in the game too.
56' SAVE! Alexandre Lima diverts the ball towards John Fitzgerald with a header. The latter takes a touch and tries to find the far post with a curler. However, KBFC shot-stopper Albino Gomes makes a relatively easy save.
53' WHAT A SHOT! After a game of pinball in midfield, the ball falls to Jordan Murray. The KBFC forward takes the ball forward and has shot from long. The ball goes out of play after beating a fully-stretched JFC goalkeeper T. P. Rehenesh.
51' SHOT! John Fitzgerald takes a shot from long for JFC. The ball is deflected by a KBFC defender. However, there's no power on it as custodian Albino Gomes makes the save.
48' REMINDER - In the opening 45 minutes, Kerala Blasters FC had a goal ruled out for offside and another one, which hit the post, went in and bounced back out, not awarded. The team has started the second half in a dominant manner after being unlucky so far.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!
Kerala Blasters FC should have taken the lead in the opening 45 minutes. But Jamshedpur FC has held on, thanks to some luck as well.
AND IT'S HALF-TIME! SCORE: KERALA BLASTERS FC 0 - 0 JAMSHEDPUR FC!!!
45' Two minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half. Replays show that Hooper's most recent effort hit the top bar and crossed the goal line before falling back into play. But no one noticed it, not even the KBFC players. Can't really blame the referee or linesman here.
43' CHANCE FOR JFC! Finally, John Fitzgerald puts in a good cross into the middle. But Jamshedpur striker Valskis is overpowered by the Kerala centre-back duo inside the box. KBFC regains possession.
40' THE WOODWORK DENIES KBFC TWICE! Both of Kerala Blasters' forwards -- Jordan Murray and Gary Hooper -- hit the crossbar with their shots from close range in back-to-back minutes. Jamshedpur has been extremely lucky here.
37' Kerala Blasters FC has dominated the last few minutes. Jamshedpur FC is clearly low on confidence. Most of the players look tired already. Manager Owen Coyle might make changes straightaway in the second half.
34' GOAL DISALLOWED! Kerala Blasters FC players were celebrating a goal but the referee had called offside after seeing the linesman. Gary Hooper passed the ball to Jordan Murray, who took a touch, moved the ball to his right and took a shot on target. The ball, after a deflection off a JFC defender, reached Hooper who was marginally offside.
31' AND IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST COOLING BREAK OF THE MATCH!
28' SAVE! Rohit Kumar makes his way towards the box after dribbling past an opposition player. He attempts a low shot on target. But JFC goalkeeper T. P. Rehenesh dives at the right time to push the ball away.
25' ANOTHER CORNER FOR KBFC! Sahal Abdul Samad will take this set-piece. However, his delivery is a poor one as Jamshedpur FC regains possession.
22' Jamshedpur has to improve its finishing up front. Kerala, which is on a four-match unbeaten run ( two wins and two draws), looks to pretty comfortable on the field right now. But will the five changes backfire?
19' CORNER FOR KBFC! Lalthathanga Khawlhring will take this one instead of Sahal Abdul Samad. He sends a cross into the box but the JFC defence clears the ball away. The rebound falls to Costa Nhamoinesu who tries to set up Gary Hooper. However, the referee raises his flag for offside.
16' GOOD TACKLE! Laldinliana Renthlei tries to make his way past Kerala's last line of defence. But Bakary Kone puts in a brilliant sliding tackle close to goal. Rohit Kumar recovers the ball and starts a counter-attack.
13' FREE-KICK FOR JFC! Ricky Lallawmawma sends the ball towards Nerijus Valskis, who controls the ball with his hand before sending it to Alexandre Lima. The referee blows hos whistle and awards the Blasters a set-piece.
10' JFC CHANCE! Laldinliana Renthlei moves the ball forward on the right flank. He evades an opposition player and sends a cross into the box. But KBFC defender Bakary Kone averts the danger with a header away.
7' VERY CLOSE! Kerala keeper Albino Gomes messed up a simple clearance at the back. He hit the ball straight towards Valskis, who took an extra touch before shooting on target. Albino got back on time to complete the save as the ball brushed the post and got back into play. Valskis should have chipped the ball straightaway.
5' Jamshedpur FC holds a slight advantage over Kerala Blasters FC in the early exchanges. JFC striker Nerijus Valskis would love a goal tonight because he's currently suffering a lean period.
3' KBFC has beaten JFC just once in the ISL -- a 3-2 victory earlier this season -- in seven outings. The Men of Steel have won twice and there have been four draws as well in matches featuring the two sides.
7:30 PM: AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
7:15 PM: Kerala Blasters FC manager Kibu Vicuna will not be in his team's dugout for this game.
7:00 PM: Can Jamshedpur FC arrest its four-match winless (three losses and one draw) ISL run?
6:45 PM: Five changes for Kerala Blasters FC tonight! Jessel Carneiro, Costa Nhamoinesu, Rohit Kumar, Lalthathanga Khawlhring and Jordan Murray have replaced Jeakson Singh, Yondrembem Denechandra, Juande, Rahul K. P. and Facundo Pereyra in Vicuna's lineup.
Meanwhile, there are two alterations for Jamshedpur FC! Peter Hartley and Mohammad Mobashir have made way for Laldinliana Renthlei and John Fitzgerald in the playing XI put out by Coyle.
6:30 PM: The team lineups are out!
KBFC XI: Albino Gomes, Sandeep Singh, Bakary Kone, Jessel Carneiro, Costa Nhamoinesu, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Vicente Gomez, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Jordan Murray, Gary Hooper.
COACH: Kibu Vicuna.
JFC XI: T. P. Rehenesh, Narender Gahlot, Ricky Lallawmawma, Stephen Eze, Laldinliana Renthlei, Aitor Monroy, Alexandre Lima, Seiminlen Doungel, John Fitzgerald, Farukh Choudhary, Nerijus Valskis.
COACH: Owen Coyle.
6:15 PM: Podcast: From coaching changes and how they are impacting the side to a certain rant from one of the biggest names in the league, the last week in ISL action has been dramatic to the say the very least. Shyam Vasudevan and Aashin Prasad are joined by The Hindu's N Sudarshan to discuss the best and worst of the week of ISL action gone by. Listen in to The Full Time Show:
Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 .
The seventh edition of the Indian Super League got underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa on November 20.
The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a league and playoff format across three venues. Following the inclusion of SC East Bengal, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.
MATCH PREVIEW:
The last time Kerala Blasters played Jamshedpur FC, early this month, the Kochi side was at the happy end of a five-goal party. Things could be a little difficult for the Blasters when the two meet again in the Hero Indian Super League at Bambolim's GMC Stadium on Wednesday.
The Blasters will miss their head coach Kibu Vicuna and the in-form K.P. Rahul through suspensions while Australian striker Jordan Murray, who scored twice against Jamshedpur in their last game, is likely to miss the match with injury.
But assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed feels that the situation is not a major worry.
“We know that we won't have some players and, unfortunately, Kibu is not available for this match but we have some players coming back from injuries,” said Ahmed. “We have a good depth in the squad and a positive attitude to go for three points.”
The Blasters will also be hoping that its experienced striker Gary Hooper regains his scoring touch.
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Jamshedpur and the Blasters are level on points (14) and on the eighth and ninth rungs respectively after 13 matches each in the 11-team ladder but the good thing is, they are just four points away from the fourth spot and the playoffs. That's how close the league is this time so both the teams will be desperate for a victory and three points.
Though they have conceded 22 goals, the highest in the league this season, the Blasters are third in the list when it comes to scoring goals (17). Only the current league leader Mumbai City FC (19) and FC Goa (18) have scored more. That stat should give the Blasters confidence.
In contrast, Jamshedpur has scored 13 goals so far. But head coach Owen Coyle feels that his team is getting better in the final third.
“With Farukh Choudhary and Seiminlen Doungel coming in, they added great dimension to our forward play and it was evident in the Hyderabad game (the team's previous match which ended goalless),” said Coyle.
"That was a real positive. We saw that we were a more attack-minded team, going for the three points and wanted that momentum.”
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