Kochi, Feb 26 (IANS): Kerala Blasters FC hammered four goals in the second half to defeat FC Goa 4-2 and secured their first win after three games in an Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 match on Sunday night. The Kochi-based outfit thus stormed into the fourth spot, inflicting a third straight defeat against FC Goa.
It was a game of two halves, with the visitors heading into the halftime break with a two-goal lead, powered by early strikes by Rowllin Borges and Mohammed Yasir, who joined the team in January from Hyderabad FC.
Whilst Borges drew first blood through a volley from a corner kick in the sixth minute, Yasir converted a pass from Noah Sadaoui, who drove the ball up on the left flank and laid up a delivery for the young attacking midfielder. The Gaurs were looking comfortable with their early lead, but the Kerala Blasters FC had other ideas as they made Goa pay for sitting on the lead in the second half.
Daisuke Sakai led the Kerala response, pulling off a fantastic free kick from the edge of the box on the left side to beat an outstretched Arshdeep Singh to make it 1-2. The goal, more importantly, the nature of it, swayed the game in the favour of the home side.
As the game entered the final 10 minutes, Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos notched a brace and assisted once to bring Kerala Blasters alive. He converted a spot-kick in the 81st minute, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner to equalise scores. Kerala Blasters FC kept pushing ahead thereafter, with an overcrowded box helping Diamantakos find a way past Arshdeep for the third goal of the night for his team three minutes later.
The Gaurs were in total disarray and their backline was unable to get itself in order. Diamantakos once again managed to break past them and sent in a pass to new recruit Fedor Cernych. The latter showed efficiency in shooting the ball into the net, bringing up their fourth goal in less than 40 minutes to reignite their campaign.
For their next match, Kerala Blasters FC will take to the road for a clash with Bengaluru FC on March 2, whereas FC Goa will face Mumbai City FC in their forthcoming fixture on February 28.