ISL 2022-23: Kerala Blasters ensure 5th straight win, edges past Bengaluru FC 3-2
ISL 2022-23 saw the conclusion of Matchday 10 on Sunday. The final game of the Matchday saw Kerala Blasters pull off a thrilling victory over Bengaluru FC 3-2, which was its fifth successive win.
FollowKerala Blasters (KBFC) gained a new landmark after scripting its fifth consecutive win in the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL), a compelling 3-2 result versus former champion Bengaluru FC (BFC) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday. Marko Leskovic, Dimitrios Diamantakos, and substitute Apostolos Giannou hit the target for the Blasters. Sunil Chhetri got off the mark this season for the Blues, and Javi Hernandez netted his third goal, but BFC slipped to its sixth beating. Both teams came in unchanged, and it was the visitors who drew first blood after just 14 minutes when skipper Sunil Chhetri bounded on a long ball from the defence and tried to take it away from Blasters goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill. Chhetri fell to the ground as they came together, and the referee pointed to the spot. This season, Chhetri was off the mark, sending Gill the wrong way and putting the Blues in front.
Eleven minutes later, the hosts restored equality as Sandesh Jhingan took Diamantakos out near the box with a tackle. Adrian Luna smashed the upright from the resulting free kick, and the ball cannoned off to the right. Thereon, Sandeep Singh whipped in a cross, and Marko Leskovic kept his serenity in a packed box to draw level.
ALSO READ:Â ISL 2022-23 - Abdenasser El Khayati shatters record as Chennaiyin FC hammers NorthEast United 7-3
The comeback was completed a couple of minutes before the break. Luna, menacing in the final third throughout the half, played an inch-perfect low cross from the left into the box, where Diamantakos reached ahead of Aleksandar Jovanovic and ended up being on the scoresheet in his fifth straight contest.
In the 70th, substitute Giannou launched a two-goal buffer for the Blasters. Approaching the BFC penalty area, Diamantakos played a through pass to Giannou before the latter took it away from Sandhu, squeezing it in from a close angle with his opening contribution after coming on.
ALSO READ:Â ISL 2022-23 - FC Goa hammers 10-man Odisha FC 3-0
The Blues were not down and out, pulling one back in the 81st, thanks to Hernandez. Blasters defender Ruivah Hormipam’s looping header landed directly at the feet of Hernandez, who freed a harsh volley from the box’s edge that flickered past the keeper, cutting the deficit back down to one. But it happened to be BFC’s final offence.
The triumph takes KBFC from sixth to fourth in the points table, just one behind ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) in the third. The Blasters travel to take on former two-time champion Chennaiyin FC (CFC) at the Marina Arena on December 19. BFC remains ninth with seven points, hosting Jamshedpur FC (JFC) on Saturday.
