The Kerala Blasters have finally started firing. For a side which was struggling to find goals till recently, the Kochi side struck twice in the opening session against Atletico de Kolkata in their Indian Super League football encounter at the Nehru Stadium here on Friday.
Blasters walked out 2-1 winners when a Luis Garcia goal in injury time was disallowed by referee Ravshan Irmatov though television replays showed that the ball had clearly crossed the goalline.
Fitter, faster and inspired by some 57,000 roaring fans, Blasters produced some delightful football. Pedro Gusmao switched flanks a few times, while captain and centre-back Cedric Hengbart moved up and down nicely with midfielder Stephen Pearson going back to take his place whenever he ventured forward.
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Right-back Sandesh Jhingan, too, raced up and down smartly. The defenders also took turns in marking the visiting dangerman Fikru Lemessa.
Surprisingly Kolkata’s marquee player — Garcia — was not in the starting line-up — he came on only in the second session — and that affected the visitor to a good extent. Both the Blasters’ goals were stunning. Gusmao sneaked in brilliantly from the left and sent a lovely cross to an unmarked Iain Hume inside the box. The alert Canadian international tapped it in as the Kolkata defenders watched in horror. Meanwhile, central defenders Cendric and Gurwinder kept Fikru on a tight leash, the former thwarting the Ethiopian early with a neat header. A little later, Fikru produced a lovely bicycle kick but it went over.
The Kolkata goal came under a lot of pressure around the half hour mark but goalkeeper Subashish Roy pulled off two brilliant saves, first denying Scottish midfielder Stephen Pearson, who had begun the goalward move, and then Brazilian Gusmao.
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But it did not take long for Blasters to increase the lead which came four minutes before the break through Gusmao. Jhingan sent a long floater to Milagres from the right. The Goan was not in the right position but Gusmao who was close by, pounced and slotted it home. Garcia replaced Spaniard Arnal Carbo in the second session and that brought Kolkata back to life.
And a little later, Kolkata found its first goal. Kingshuk Debnath, who came in along with Garcia, sent the ball smartly into the box. Frenchman Hengbart tried to kick away the danger but an alert Fikru slotted home in the 55th.
Just when the match appeared to be heading for a memorable end came the referee’s blunder.
The result: Kerala Blasters FC 2 (Iain Hume 4, Pedro Gusmao 42) bt Athletico de Kolkata 1 (Fikru Lemessa 55th).