Kerala Blasters suffered their first home defeat in their last match against Chennaiyin FC much to the disappointment of the huge crowd. Josekutty PanackalKochi: Fear of defeat looms like a dark cloud in the minds of Kerala Blasters' supporters. The question nagging their minds is whether Blasters will win the remaining two games as semifinal entry is impossible without the wins. Even winning both games will fetch them only 21 points from the 14 games. The future depends on the performance of other teams.
Blasters will have the following wish-list in the ISL. Win both their remaining games and the teams above them in the points tally should also win. A win should remain a distant dream for Delhi Dynamos, NorthEast United and Pune City FC teams. This is the ideal situation that can help the cause of Blasters. This is where the teams stand in the points table as on Monday.
Chennaiyin FC (22 points)
FC Goa (18)
3 Atletico de Kolkata (16)
4 Kerala Blasters (15)
Delhi Dynamos, NorthEast United and Pune City (13 points each)
Mumbai City FC (12)
Blasters would want Atletico to beat Delhi on Tuesday and Mumbai to win against Pune City on Wednesday. That is not all. Kerala supporters will sincerely pray for Chennai to win against Goa on Friday and Delhi on December 9. Blasters have their fingers crossed, tensed at hoping for a draw when Pune and Delhi meet on Saturday.
Blasters’ supporters can be excused the selfish thought of wanting a draw again in the Mumbai–NorthEast United game on December 10. If all the above happen and they also win the two remaining home games, Blasters can hope to end up in the semifinals.
The crowd have flocked to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi boisterously supporting their team. Last Sunday proved to be a black day for them. Even more shocking than the 0-3 defeat at the hands of Goa was the 0-1 loss to Chennai. Anybody will agree that the defeat against Goa was in the latter’s home territory and that they were a better team in every way. But a clear lack of spirit was on display against Chennai. Passes and shots that missed their targets, aimless sprints, a criminal attitude that exposes own fort while counter-attacking and so on.
Fans are bewildered as to what struck Blasters’ camp. They have not quite recovered their self-confidence that was shred to smithereens against Goa. Has the mutual understanding between players and team spirit taken a beating? Fans suspect if the attitude of the players itself has changed.
Blasters have the ill-repute of a team that forgets to score. This is a team that has scored the least goals in the ISL. Blasters have netted a mere 8 goals in a tournament that has seen 100 scored being scored. Why are the goals so difficult to come by? What happened to the striker called Michael Chopra who was brought in with much fanfare? Is he injured? If so what kind of injury? All he played has been four matches, that too for short periods.
Leave alone goal-scoring, Blasters have not been able to make excellent passes or launch shots at the opposition goal. They were not even training on many days. If his injury is major, can’t Chopra be sent back home and a suitable player called to the team, asks the average Kerala football fan. They expect Blasters to give a fitting reply to their concerning questions through a scintillating performance against NorthEast United on Thursday.
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