There was joy and relief for Kerala Blasters on Sunday night.
Relief because it finally registered a win in the ISL this season. Joy because it was a fine win that brought the high-flying Odisha FC to the ground at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim.
Alvaro Vazquez and K. Prasanth were the scorers in Blasters’ 2-1 win, which came after a loss and two draws. Odisha, on the other hand, had come into the contest after winning both its matches and scoring nine goals.
On this night, however, the Blasters defence made life difficult for the rival strikers.
Threatening moves
With Sahal Adul Samad and Adrian Luna taking little time to find their rhythm, the Blasters threatened to take the lead early on.
But they were let down by their poor show in the final third, something their coach Ivan Vukomanovic had expressed concerns about on the eve of the match.
There were chances for Odisha too. A long-ranger by Javier Hernandez — all the way from the halfway line — nearly gave the side the lead in the 25th minute.
It was still the Blasters who played better in what was a lively opening half. They continued to create chances in the second period too when Vazquez converted one of those in the 62nd minute.
After receiving a lovely through ball from Luna, he kept his composure and used all his experience to get past the Odisha defenders and slot home.
In the 85th minute, another through ball from Luna saw a quick-footed Prasanth making it 2-0. For Odisha, Nikhil’s strike came too late in the night.
The results: Kerala Blasters 2 (Vazquez 62, Prasanth 85) bt Odisha FC 1 (Nikhil Raj 90+4); Bengaluru FC 1 (Silva 20) lost to Mumbai City FC 3 (Angulo 9, Fall 54, Catatau 85).
Today’s match: Jamshedpur FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan, 7.30 p.m.
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