After a historical 8-0 victory against Mumbai City FC in their debut match in the group stage where we witnessed 2 hattricks and a brace in a single game, Kerala Blasters FC entered the building, exuding a great deal of confidence. On the other hand, Punjab FC was also approaching this match with high hopes as they too didn’t fail to acquire those all-important 3 points against CISF Protectors FC where the fans witnessed a brace from their goalscoring machine, Luka Majcen. The stakes were incredibly high for this electrifying encounter, and indeed, it lived up to the excitement.
Unlike the first match, Manjappada faced the main team of The Shers this time who were comparatively on an equal level on paper when compared with Kerala, fielding a much superior and experienced team. As both sides were tied with 3 points consecutively in the first and the second place, the survival in this group for either teams depended upon the outcome of this match.
We saw equal amount of chances created from both sides from the very first minute itself as Nihal Sudeesh and Luka Majcen constantly created trouble in the opposition half and also saw the top trio of The Tuskers, Noah, Luna, and Peprah trying to build an unbreakable chemistry between them which can eventually lead to a goalscoring masterclass but the disciplined Punjab FC defense stood strong, refusing each and every attempt made by Kerala Blasters FC.
It was Slovenian striker, Luka Majcen to finally break the deadlock in the additional minutes just before half-time as he effortlessly scooped in the ball received from Nikhil Prabhu past young goalkeeper, Som Kumar who attempted a save but unfortunately failed.
There was equal dominance from both sides, but it was in the 57th minute the game turned upside down as super sub, Mohammed Aimen leveled the scoresheet, assisted by Kwame Peprah who made a brave run through the flanks, successfully entered the box and provided an accurate pass which was available for anyone who donned yellow who was inside the box to collect. A second goal from Punjab FC was surely lurking around in the field as there were near misses in front of the goal.
Danish Farooq who received more praise in the first match failed to create the same impact on the field today as we sometimes saw his lack of vision when passing the ball but was not at all in bad form as minor errors doesn’t decide the quality of a footballer. We saw attempts from Freddy in the first half which if converted, will turn out to be a banger of a goal. Defender Muhammed Saheef also showcased an outstanding performance, this afternoon.
Kerala Blasters FC lined up in a 4-3-3 formation same as in their previous match under their new tactician at the helm, Mikael Stahre. A few notable changes in the lineup was the exclusion of Ishan Pandita who scored a brace within a minute in the previous match. Punjab FC was also lining up with the same formation under coach, Panagiotis Dilmperis who concentrated on making an impact by capitalizing on the chemistry between Luka Majcen, Nihal Sudeesh, and Leon Augustine.
Mikael Stahre on the other hand was very aggressive on the sideline as his plans which primarily lie in the midfield, often failed to make the impact that he was eagerly expecting for. Noah Sadaoui and Adrian Luna were also at a slow pace today as the whole Punjab FC team marked those two as possible threats on the field.
Overall, this match was an end-to-end thriller where both teams were destined to share the spoils after 90 minutes. Kerala Blasters FC has still comfortably cemented their spot in the first place because of a huge margin of goal difference followed by Punjab FC in the second place also with 4 points.
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