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Kerala Blasters FC were off to a disappointing start at home in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2016 as they lost to inaugural champions Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. The passionate Kochi crowd witnessed some end to end football contest, but eventually was disappointed to see their side lose by 1-0. It was Javi Lara’s goal in 53rd minute that saw Atletico de Kolkata register their first win of the season. You can watch the video highlights of Kerala Blasters vs Atletico de Kolkata match here.
Atletico de Kolkata dominated the goalless first-half and enjoyed the majority of the possession. 55% to be precise. In first ten minutes of the game, both the sides had a chance to go one up. However, that was not the case to be as both teams looked scratchy. For ATK, Helder Postiga had the chance to net a goal as he received a pass from Ian Hume, but Postiga missed the target. There was a counter attack from hosts then as Antonio German tried hard to breach the ATK’s defence. Also Catch- Kerala Blasters FC vs Atletico de Kolkata- As it Happened
The ATK then suffered a blow when Postiga suffered a rib injury and was replaced Juan Belencoso in the 17th minute. Things heated up after 20 minutes as German missed yet another chance to score an opening goal. Few minutes later, Kerala defender Cedric Hengbart blocked a shot from Lara. Also Check- ISL 2016 Points Table
German looked like the one to breach ATK’s defence, but he found it hard. At half-time both sides went in with nothing on their back. If first-half action was partly dominated by ATK, the second-half belonged to then hands down.
In 53rd minute, Lara found the net when the ball took a deflection off Kerala defender Sandesh Jhinghan and then went into bottom right corner of the goal. Lara’s goal later proved to be the difference between these two sides. Also Check- ISL 2016 Schedule
The home side was never allowed to bounce back. However they had their chances towards the end, but Blasters failed to convert them. During injury time, a corner from Mehtab Hossain gave hosts with an opportunity to equalize but Captain Hengbart’s header was off target. There was another corner for Blasters, but the result was same.
With this win, Atletico de Kolkata climb to second position on the points table while Kerala Blasters drop to last. This was ATK’s first win of the season after a 2-2 draw against defending champions Chennaiyin FC. Blasters now take on Delhi Dynamos FC while ATK faces Mumbai City FC. (Image Source).
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