JOIN USBengaluru make it six on the bounce
It was always going to be a game ruled by emotions. It always is when Bengaluru FC face Kerala Blasters. For the Indian Super League, it’s the fixture that brings the highest average attendance. And so it proved once again at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday.
Amidst the cauldron of noise and a sea of yellow and blue of officially over 28,000, it was Bengaluru that did it better as they secured that all important goal and the
1-0 win to keep their playoff hopes alive. A win to earn the bragging rights.
Roy Krishna was that difference. This was what the Fijian was roped in for. While his struggles was mirrored by the team’s form in the first half of the season, his return to form has been the catalyst of Bengaluru’s six-game winning run.
Just after the half hour mark, Krishna picked a pass from Hernandez, powered into the Blasters’ box where he held off Ruivah Hormipam and played ‘who blinks first?’ with the goalkeeper. As it happened, Prabhsukhan Gill did and Krishna rolled the ball into the net from a tight angle before basking in the crescendo of noise.
While that may have been the only instance where the scoreboard was altered, Bengaluru had ample opportunities to ensure it was a less stressful evening.
There was Alan Costa heading over from a set-piece and Sandesh Jhingan smacking the crossbar with a header off another. Hernandez had a glorious opportunity where he had just the keeper to beat but Gill, all flailing arms and legs, somehow smothered that opportunity. All this was just in the first half.
Blasters had the lion’s share of the ball but failed to create much in terms of clear chances. Even though they outworked their opponents in the second half, Bengaluru showed steel to keep them at arm’s length.
The win, coupled by Goa’s loss at the hands of the now crowned ISL Shield winners Mumbai City FC earlier in the day, means Bengaluru are fifth on the table with 28 points. Their next two games against the unbeaten Mumbai and Goa will decide their fate.
For Blasters, at third and with one foot in the playoff already, this is a minor setback.