ISL 2015: Shorey bedazzles Kerala as Pune win a match to remember

Pune helmsman, David Platt continued with his rotation strategy and made six changes to the starting line-up. He switched to a 4-4-2 formation in order to take advantage of the space afforded to them on the wings by the 5-3-2 formation used by Kerala Blasters. Nicky Shorey started as a left winger as Pune started with a completely new back-four, except for Gouramangi Singh.

The strategy seemed to have backfired as the new defense had an awful start to the game when Kerala Blasters scored a goal in the 40th second of the match. Chris Dagnall got the better of Didier Zokora on the right wing and his cross was met with an emphatic header by Mohammed Rafi.

That goal shocked Pune into action and Platt made a tactical change at this point - dropping Shorey back to the left back and pushing Gurjinder Kumar foward in his place.

It didn't take the home team long to equalize, as Kalu Uche scored in the 16th minute. Shorey delivered a delightful cross into the box and the Nigerian striker was at hand to head it in at the far post. It was the start of a very fruitful partnership between Shorey and Uche as just seven minutes later, the duo combined once again to provide Pune with the lead.

Shorey dribbled past Bheke and Mehtab Hossain with ease and drifted into the box. The Englishman reached the byline and pulled the ball back for Uche to slot it into the far corner of the net.

In what turned out to be a topsy-turvy half of football, and certainly the most exciting we have witnessed so far in this season, Kerala responded almost immediately. Rafi produced a well placed header which struck the far post and then crept into the net at the near post.

It was the Indian striker's fourth goal in his last three matches, and took the teams into the half-time break tied at 2-2.

The game settled down in the second half as the frantic pace of the first half died down a bit. Nicky Shorey though, continued to create chances for the Stallions as his free-kick in the 53rd minute was headed straight at the goalkeeper by Uche. Immediately from that save, Kerala launched a counter-attack with Chris Dagnall forcing Steve Simonson into making a decent save with a long range effort. 

In the 71st minute, Pune took the lead for the second time of the game as Shorey delivered another scintillating cross from the left and this time it was Tuncay Sanli who found the back of the net with a thumping header.

That goal turned out to be the winner as the match ended 3-2 in favour of the home side. It was Pune's fourth home win of this season and Kerala Blasters' fourth loss in a row. The Stallions have now taken a two-point lead of FC Goa at the top of the table, while Kerala are stuck at the bottom.

David Platt will be pleased with his strike force, but there will be concerns regarding his back-four, which has now conceded four goals in their last two games. The English manager might have to look at his policy of rotating players as that can be unsettling for a defense.

Peter Taylor was disappointed after his team conceded two goals from corners in their last game against FC Goa, and things didn't improve in that aspect in this match as well. Kerala struggled to deal with crosses and their manager will have to consider a change in formation, to provide more protection on the wings.