ISL: Kerala Blasters goes down against East Bengal 1-2

Kolkata: Kerala Blasters lost to East Bengal, which is below them in the ISL points table. The Yellow Army, who had donned their boots with high hopes against Bengal at their home ground, lost two goals to one.

Malayali player PV Vishnu (20th minute) and Hijaz Maher (72nd minute) scored for East Bengal. Danish Farooqui (84th minute) was the consolation goal for the Blasters. The hosts created more chances in the match. In the 15th minute and the 16th minute, former Blasters player Dimitrios Diamantakos and Cleiton Silva, respectively, tested Blasters goalkeeper, Sachin Suresh, while Naorem Mahesh Singh and Vishnu posed a tough challenge to the Blaster's defence.

Finally, in the 20th minute, East Bengal's efforts paid off. Vishnu took the lead for Bengal with the assistance of Cleiton. Vishnu ran to the ball that was passed to the front of the box and chipped it into the net over goalkeeper Sachin, who had come forward. Koro's attempt to save the ball on the line was unsuccessful.

Blasters struggled to get the ball into the final third in the early stages of the match. In the 37th minute, Richard Celis' shot from 40 yards hit the post. The Blasters ended the first half without making any significant progress. The Blasters showed consistency at the beginning of the second half, but none of their moves were on target. Later, in the 72nd minute, Hijaz Maher increased the lead with a header.