ISL 2015: Super-sub Izumi breaks Kerala hearts as Kolkata win it late
It was the day of the substitutes in Kochi today, as Antonio German of Kerala Blasters and Arata Izumi of Atletico de Kolkata scored a brace each. It was the defending champions, however, who had the last laugh with a winner in the 93rd minute to win it 3-2.
Atletico manager Antonio Habas made a big tactical change at the start of this game, as he went in with a 3-5-1-1 formation. In the absence of regular center-backs, Arnab Mondal and Josemi, Habas slotted in Ofentse Nato and Denzil Franco alongside Tiri.
The match started brightly with Iain Hume and Mohammed Rafi testing both the keepers with a couple of headers. But it was Rino Anto who came the closest with a stunning long-range volley in the 20th minute, which had Kerala goalie Stephen Bywater scampering across at the goal. Lcukily, for Kerala, the ball landed on the top of the net.
Eventually, Atletico opened the scoring in the 28th minute, when left-back Nallappan Mohanraj found space at the far post and headed in a delightful cross from Jaime Gavilan.
Kerala striker Sanchez Watt was being provided 'special attention' by Borja Fernandez and after suffering a host of rough challenges, the Englishman limped off the field in the 35th minute, to be replaced by Antonio German.
Antonio German missed a golden opportunity to equalize, seconds after coming on the pitch, as he scuffed his shot after chesting down a cross from Rahul Bheke. But he redeemed himself two minutes later by scoring from a penalty. The spot kick was awarded after Denzil Franco brought down Kerala midfielder Josu inside the box with a reckless challenge in the 40th minute.
With that goal, both the teams went into the half-time break tied at 1-1 and there was hardly anything to choose between the two sides.
The match saw a flurry of late goals with substitute Arata Izumi providing Kolkata with the lead once again in the 84th minute. The midfielder, who missed the last few matches due to injury, had a bit of luck to thank for this goal as his cross from the left wing hit the far post and went in.
But just a minute later, Kerala equalized once again. Pulga produced a cross from the left and it reached Rafi inside the penalty box. The Indian forward set it up for German, who volleyed it hard and low in the bottom right hand corner.
Izumi was to have the final say in the game though, as the Indian midfielder scored the winner in the 93rd minute of the game. Sameehg Doutie racked up another assist when he picked out Izumi inside the box from a counter-attack with a low cross, and the 33-year-old made no mistake in slotting it past a helpless Kerala goalkeeper.
This was Kolkata's second away win in a row and it puts them back in the mix for a spot in the top-four. Kerala produced an impressive performance, specially in the attack, but will be heartbroken at having to leave empty-handed in this closely fought game.
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments