Kerala Blasters FC vs FC Goa

Adios!

That's it from this game and that concludes Matchweek 6. Now, there will be a break of a few days and the action in Hero ISL 2022-23 resumes on Thursday, 17th November, as Mumbai City FC will take on Bengaluru FC at the Mumbai Football Arena. The game will begin at 7.30 pm IST. Till then, goodbye and take care.

Awards!

The Club Award goes to KBFC for winning the game. The Hero of the Match Award goes to Ivan Kaliuzhnyi.

A clinical win for KBFC.

KBFC takes all the points here! The game started a bit cagey where both teams were trying to keep the ball, but were unable to create any clear cut openings. The first real chance fell to Sahal Samad whose shot was well saved by Dheeraj Moirangthem, and a few minutes later Prabhsukhan Gill was called into action as well when he showed great reflexes to deny Alvaro Vazquez. Kerala Blasters FC gradually got hold of the game and ultimately Adrian Luna broke the deadlock just before the half-time, but credit must also go to Rahul Kannoly Praveen for his brilliant run to make the opportunity. Just minutes after taking the lead, KBFC were awarded a penalty in the added time of the first half where Dimitrios Diamantakos scored to double their lead and sent the crowd to frenzy. At the start of the second- half, Kerala Blasters FC were on the front foot and it did not took them long to make it 3-0, when Ivan Kaliuzhnyi scored an absolute belter from almost 30 yards away. It looked game set and match then and there, but FC Goa showed some fight and played good football in patches. They created a couple of good chances as well, but Gill kept them away for a while. However, a defensive lapse by KBFC and Noah Wail Sadaoui got one back for FC Goa through a brilliant header. They tried to put more pressure, but KBFC defense stood strong to see them through. The crowd in Kerala as always played a part and they were going crazy at the full-time whistle. So, Kerala Blasters FC have finally got a victory over FC Goa after ten Hero ISL matches and this will be a sweet, sweet feeling for them.

Full time!

The referee blows the final whistle and gets an end to this enthralling game. KBFC win the game quite comfortably here.

Off target!

Edu Bedia stands behind the dead ball. He charges in towards the ball and fires it wide of the goal. The keeper just watches it sail past him for a goal-kick.

Added time!

So then, the officials have decided to add six minutes into the end of the second half. Only a miracle can get FCG a point from this position.

Substitution

A late change for KBFC now. Victor Mongil comes in for Ivan Kaliuzhnyi.

Substitutions!

A couple of changes now for KBFC. Saurav Mandal and Jessel Carneiro comes into the field in place of Sahal Samad and Soraisham Sandeep Singh.

Very poor!

Adrian Luna stand behind the dead ball. It isn't very far away from the goal, but still he goes hunting for a team-mate at the far post but does not find anyone.

Just over!

Apostolos Giannou is unable to keep his header down here. He could've sealed the game for his side here. A huge chance goes abegging. Rahul Kannoly Praveen does all the hard work in the right side. He sprints towards the byline and puts in a lob at the far post. Although, the final result is missing.

Over the goal

A sigh of relief for FCG. It is Rahul Kannoly Praveen who sends in a cross from the right flank at the near post. Dheeraj Moirangthem punches it away but only to find Luna at the far post. Adrian Luna tries to hit it on the half-volley but could not keep it low.

Substitutions

Time for some changes for KBFC. Jeakson Singh and Dimitrios Diamantakos make their way out for Lalthathanga Khawlhring and Apostolos Giannou.

GOAL!

A huge moment in the game for FCG. They get one goal back through Noah Wail Sadaoui's header. A tempting cross comes into the danger area from Seriton Fernandes. He finds Noah unmarked inside the opposition box, who makes no error in beating the keeper's effort and hand some hope to FCG.

What a save!

Prabhsukhan Gill to the rescue this time. Iker Guarrotxena gets set up brilliantly by a through ball. He is one on one with the goal-keeper but could not open his body up and find the back of the net, as Gill was alert enough to get low on his left quickly to make a solid stop.

Fresh legs!

A change for FCG now as Redeem Tlang comes in for Brandon Fernandes.

Offside!

Oh no! Alvaro Vazquez finds the back of the net but the lineman raises the flag and the goal is ruled out. Frustrating for Alvaro Vazquez.

No break

FCG are forced to remain on the back foot here, as KBFC are all over them at the moment. Things are heating up here in Kerala.

GOOOOAALLLLL!

Stunner! Absolute stunner! Ivan Kaliuzhnyi scores a beauty to give a 3-0 lead to KBFC. The crowd is delighted and why not. Dimitrios Diamantakos gets the ball on the right flank. He cuts back and lays it off to Ivan Kaliuzhnyi who is atleast 30 yards away from goal. Ivan Kaliuzhnyi still sets himself up quite beautifully and pulls the trigger to find the right top corner.

No end product

Soraisham Sandeep Singh takes a long throw down the right flank but the KBFC player is unable to keep it under control.

Resumption

We are back for the second half. KBFC will be attacking from left to right in this half. Also, no such changes to be notified at the start of the second half.

KBFC on top here!

What an entertaining game of football this has been so far. The KBFC crowd is up on its feet as the players make their way out of the field. KBFC were the dominant side throughout the first half but could not break the deadlock quite easily. They kept on knocking at the door by creating half chances. Until the fag end of the first half, when KBFC doubled their lead through two quick goals. First one by Luna followed by a goal of Dimitrios Diamantakos. On the other hand, FCG started well but could not grow into the game as they would've liked too. FC Goa would be desperate to score the first goal in the second half, if they want to keep themselves into the game. A lot hangs on the way they start the second half. Will KBFC continue their domination? Or will FCG find a way to get their noses in front? We shall find out soon. Do join us for the second essay shortly.

Half-time!

There goes the half-time whistle and KBFC are leading 2-0 at the break.

Added time!

The referee has added three minutes at the end of the first half.

GOOAALLLL!

Dimitrios Diamantakos makes no mistake. He takes the responsibilty and slots it low to the left of the keeper in the net. Dheeraj Moirangthem had no chance as he dived the other way. KBFC makes it 2-0 just before half-time.

Penalty awarded!

Adrian Luna plays a brilliant through ball towards Sahal Samad and he puts in a cross inside the box where Anwar Ali tries to put in a tackle on Dimitrios Diamantakos inside the box, but he gets no contact on the ball and fouls Dimitrios Diamantakos. The referee has no hesitation and gives a penalty for the challenge. He also books Anwar Ali. A golden chance for KBFC to make it 2-0.

GOOAALLLL!

KBFC takes the lead and the crowd goes wild! Rahul Kannoly Praveen goes on an amazing run from the right and puts in a cross, but it is blocked by a defender. Rahul Kannoly Praveen gets to the second ball and floats it inside the box again towards Adrian Luna where he goes for the diving header but misses. Sahal Samad receives it at the far post, cuts it out and tries to take a shot from his left foot but mishits it. However, it goes towards Adrian Luna and he taps it in the net.

Great skills!

Sahal Samad is proving to be a threat for the FC Goa defense. He receives the ball on the right side and nutmegs Anwar Ali to go through on goal, but he takes a heavy touch and it is cleared away by the FC Goa defense.

KBFC on the counter!

KBFC with another attack from the right flank. Rahul Kannoly Praveen takes it towards the corner flag and tries to put in a cross, but it takes a deflection of Noah Wail Sadaoui and goes behind the goal line. However, the referee decides to give a goal kick after consulting his assistant.

Great piece of defending!

Marko Leskovic shows his experience! Anwar Ali plays a long ball towards Noah Wail Sadaoui on the left wing. He traps it, takes it wide of the defender and flashes a cross inside the box, but Marko Leskovic clears it away with a flying header for a corner. No harm done from the corner.

Burst of speed!

Rahul Kannoly Praveen shows his pace and steals the ball and goes past Anwar Ali with ease, but his touch is a heavy one and he ends up fouling Aibanbha Dohling. Marko Leskovic argues with the referee about the decision and gets a yellow card.

Possession football!

FC Goa are trying to keep the ball and build attacks from the back, but they are unable to exploit the spaces in the KBFC defense.

Forced change!

FC Goa makes a change as Saviour Gama leaves the field with an injury. Sanson Pereira replaces him.

Brilliant move!

KBFC getting closer! Adrian Luna gets the ball in the middle of the field and plays a pass to Sahal Samad on the left. He puts through Dimitrios Diamantakos on goal, but he shoots it wide of the goal. Another good opportunity goes begging.

Another KBFC attack!

Dimitrios Diamantakos puts in a dangerous flighted cross from the right, but Dheeraj Moirangthem reads it well and punches it away for a throw-in. If he would have missed that, Sahal Samad was waiting to head it in.

Keepers on song!

This time it is Prabhsukhan Gill! Noah Wail Sadaoui carries the ball on the right flank and delivers a flat cross inside the box where Alvaro Vazquez takes a shot at goal, but Prabhsukhan Gill shows great reflexes and dives low to his left to deflect it away for a corner.

Good save!

KBFC with a dangerous attack! Rahul Kannoly Praveen gets the ball on the right side and puts in a good cross towards the far post where Sahal Samad shoots it first time, but it is blocked by a FC Goa defender. Nishu Kumar gets to the loose ball first, Sahal Samad takes the ball from him, cuts inside and takes a powerful shot, but Dheeraj Moirangthem is equal to it and parries it away for a corner. Nothing comes from the latter as well.

Just wide!

Iker Guarrotxena gets the loose ball just outside the box, takes a touch and fires in a shot, but it just goes wide of the post.

Early free-kick!

Ayush Dev Chhetri tries to go on a run , but he is fouled by Dimitrios Diamantakos. Eduardo Bedia Pelaez takes the free-kick and floats in a looping delivery but Iker Guarrotxena heads it over the goal.

Let's Football

We are ready for action! It will be Kerala Blasters FC who will get us underway. They will attack from the right to left in the first half.

Toss

The coin goes up and lands in favour of FCG. Brandon Fernandes decides to select side. They will attack from left to right in the first half.

National Anthem!

The players from both teams walk out as they line up for the Indian National Anthem.

FC Goa (Playing XI)

Dheeraj Moirangthem (GK), Anwar Ali, Seriton Fernandes, Saviour Gama, Aibanbha Dohling, Brandon Fernandes (C), Ayush Dev Chhetri, Iker Guarrotxena, Eduardo Bedia Pelaez, Noah Wail Sadaoui and Alvaro Vazquez.

Kerala Blasters FC (Playing XI)

Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Soraisham Sandeep Singh, Ruivah Hormipam, Nishu Kumar, Marko Leskovic, Adrian Luna (C), Jeakson Singh, Sahal Samad, Dimitrios Diamantakos, Rahul Kannoly Praveen and Ivan Kaliuzhnyi.

Goals galore!

The two teams have started showing their proficiency in front of goal with two contrasting styles of attack that could make this match-up go in either team's favor. Carlos Pena has stressed the importance of building attacks from the back and loves to see his team keep possession of the ball. FCG’s defense forms the roots of their attacking system depending heavily on their holding midfielders to play passes through the line and break open the opposition's defense. This strategy could be dangerous against opposition like KBFC who press high up the pitch and look to move quickly in transition to counterattack their opponents. However, the visitors do find themselves suspect at the back in their attempt to push high up the pitch which can allow a technically gifted FCG side to easily cut them apart. FCG have historically dominated their opposition having won 9 of the 16 games they have played against each other. KBFC have won just 3 of those games with their last win coming towards the end of 2016 and will be hoping to turn their fortune around in this encounter. Out of the four draws that these two teams have played out, two have come in the Hero ISL 2021-22 with the last game they played each other yielding 8 goals and the pulsating contest ending 4-4. KBFC got Ruivah Hormipam back into the lineup and his partnership with Marko Leskovic finally seems to be blossoming as they managed their second clean sheet of the campaign. Ivan Kaliuzhnyi was adopted in the midfield role after the experiment to play him as a forward failed and this has allowed Rahul Kannoly Praveen to retain his place in the playing eleven. Adrian Luna always provides a constant threat due to his creativity and with Dimitrios Diamantakos among the goals, we could be in for a treat. Sahal Samad’s second-half brace coming off the bench has him knocking on the doors and it is to be seen if he makes it to the starting eleven. FCG have conceded just 2 goals in their 4 games so far and the credit goes to their goalkeeper Dheeraj Moirangthem who has the highest save percentage in the Hero ISL 2022-23 with his team suffering their only loss when he was dropped to the bench. The defenders are good with the ball at their feet and Eduardo Bedia Pelaez has seen his partnership with Glan Martins in the holding midfield role broken as Ayush Dev Chhetri is set for his third consecutive start. Noah Wail Sadaoui continued his goal contribution as a lone striker and is ably supported by a midfield comprising of skipper Brandon Fernandes, Redeem Tlang, Iker Guarrotxena, Brison Fernandes, and Makan Chothe. Will KBFC prove to be the stronger team in front of a boisterous home crowd? Will FCG get their fourth win of the campaign or will the tie end with points being shared?

Gathering momentum!

We have been flying through the Hero Indian Super League 2022-23 season as we arrive at the final fixture of matchweek 6 where two attacking teams plot to overcome their opponents in what will be a cracking contest. Kerala Blasters FC will host FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi with both teams coming into this game on the back of convincing wins in their previous games. The hosts won their opening game with ease and showed the same form in the last match against NEUFC winning 3-0 as they ended their run of three consecutive losses. FCG have shown remarkable grit in this campaign winning their two opening games before losing a tight match against the table toppers HFC, but they overcame the disappointment by beating JFC 3-0 in the previous match. They are looking like a team on a mission and will be desperate to seal a crucial win in this game to sustain pressure on the top teams. KBFC were the runners-up in Hero ISL 2021-22 and have not gotten off to the best of starts this year but will be looking to take the confidence from their last win to mount a title challenge. We expect there to be loads of goals as both teams play a positive brand of football and this is bound to be an exciting spectacle.