Pearson sends Blasters through

Hits extra-time winner after Chennaiyin FC stages a remarkable comeback

December 16, 2014 10:47 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 04:51 pm IST - Chennai

Stephen Pearson of Kerala FC celebrates after scoring winning goal against Chennaiyin FC during the 2nd leg semifinal match at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, in Chennai on Tuesday. Photo: R. Ragu

Stephen Pearson of Kerala FC celebrates after scoring winning goal against Chennaiyin FC during the 2nd leg semifinal match at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, in Chennai on Tuesday. Photo: R. Ragu

It was a victory which should have ideally been had rather easily. Instead, Kerala Blasters slept through almost the whole match, allowed Chennaiyin FC to stage a stirring comeback from 3-0 down before nudging a win through Stephen Pearson in the 117th minute to enter the Indian Super League final 4-3 on aggregate.

Both teams finished with 10 men, with James McAllister sent off for Kerala and player-manager Marco Materazzi for Chennai.

The match, except for the last five minutes, belonged to Chennaiyin throughout. Materazzi’s tactical acumen was on display when he shifted Bernard Mendy away from his defensive slot and pushed him up the right flank.

He placed himself in the centre of the midfield and in a departure from the past, pushed relentlessly forward. So much so that on occasions, he was the most advanced Chennaiyin player on the pitch.

It gave the home side an aerial threat in the box. The first evidence of this was in the 12th minute when Materazzi won a header and then flicked the ball behind for Jean-Eudes Maurice, whose shot was saved by the Blasters goalkeeper Sandip.

Passivity

Kerala hardly seemed like the side it was in the first leg. The entire team went into a shell and passivity seeped through its entirety. Such was its players’ reluctance to make things happen that McAllister was cautioned for time wasting as early as in the eighth minute.

And then on 28 minutes, a kick at Mendy’s legs earned him his second yellow and thereby the marching orders.

With a man up, Chennai attacked with verve. Mendy swung crosses at will from the right wing and Materazzi kept feeding long balls and charging forward.

It was also notable that Chennaiyin neither had Bruno Pelissari nor Elano in the starting eleven.

The absence of the two creative lynchpins should have prompted Kerala to at least press the midfield duo of Djemba-Djemba and Materazzi, who are not known to be effective ball-players. Instead, it lined up every man, except forward Iain Hume, behind the ball and allowed the host to launch attack after attack.

The home team opened the scoring with three minutes left in the first half when Mikael Silvestre headed in from Marco Materazzi’s perfect free-kick. When a penalty was given just after the restart, following a foul on Maurice by Sandesh Jhingan, Chennaiyin seemed right back in it.

But Materazzi, who was forced into a retake after Maurice charged into the box early, failed to convert.

The home team then brought both Elano and Pelissari to bolster its attack. An own goal by Jhingan with quarter of an hour to go, when his attempt to chest the ball down towards the ’keeper went awry, and the equaliser by Jeje Lalpekhlua after a wonderful cross from Mendy, who played much of the second half on the left flank, made an unlikely comeback loom.

Materazzi sent off

However, a red card to Materazzi on 104 minutes, followed by injuries to Harmanjot Khabra — who yet again was outstanding — and Maurice proved telling. Khabra and Maurice were both stationed on the right side and with their movement restricted, neither could stop Pearson from scoring from their end.

The result (Second leg):

Chennaiyin FC 3 (Silvestre 42, Jhingan-o.g. 76, Jeje 90) bt Kerala Blasters 1 (Pearson 117). Kerala Blasters wins 4-3 on aggregate.

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