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Cometh the hour, cometh the captain as Adrian Luna delivered a performance for the ages to give the Manjappada a reason to stay for the rest of the season.
ISL 2024-25: KBFC beat MSC 3-0. (X)
Skipper Adrian Luna led the charge with a stellar performance as the Kerala Blasters returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win over Mohammedan SC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday evening.
The Uruguayan seemed to channel his festive spirit as he scored an Olympico to give Kerala Blasters the opening goal in the 62nd minute to help the side, who were desperate to turn things around. The goal, however, was credited as a own goal by MSC custodian Bhaskar Roy.
After the dismissal of Mikael Stahre and his coaching staff, the Tuskers were in dire need of a win as they languished at 10th in the points table ahead of the fixture. With TG Purushothaman and Tomasz Tchorzat at the helm on an interim basis, a win was the need of the hour to end the year on a positive note.
The hosts seemed to dominate most of the first half but resulted in no goals as both teams lacked that edge in the final third. The Blasters had their first shot on target with Luna spreading the ball wide on the left flank where Noah Sadaoui put in that decisive cross but Kwame Peprahs’s header was blocked by the opposition’s keeper.
In a rather dramatic end to the first half, the hosts looked to put together a rather speedy counterattack led by the forward lines. But once again those efforts proved to be futile as the home team lacked that finishing touch to get their first goal.
Luna had a slice of luck when his corner kick went straight into the net with the goalkeeper making the mistake as he tried to punch the incoming ball in the 62nd minute to give the hosts the opening goal of the game. Blasters had the chance to double their lead but Peprah’s slip in the box meant that no one could finish the free ball that was left inside the visitor’s box.
But the hosts added to their tally with Sadaoui getting the header thanks to a perfect cross by Thingujam Korou Singh as the MSC defenders failed to mark the free man in the box in the 80th minute.
With the goals coming in due time and the Manjapadda cheering on in support of their team, the visitors looked rather demoralised and lacked the belief that they could snatch a goal to get them back in the game. Even each tackle was being cheered on by the 15000+ members that were present at the venue.
Luna led from the front as he gave the perfect cross into the box from the left flank as the substitute Alexandra Serge Coeff got the third goal to put the nail in the coffin and end what has been an outstanding performance when the situation demanded it the most.
- Location :
Kochi [Cochin], India
