Overly defensive Blasters pay the price

There are not many positive takeaways for Kerala Blasters from their second consecutive draw at home on Saturday. In fact, they were lucky to have scraped a 1-1 draw with Delhi Dynamos in their third match of the season.

Delhi looked like a team with a clear plan right from the beginning. They attempted more attacks in the first half and came close to scoring at least twice before the break.

On the other hand, Blasters looked pretty rusty. There were no indications that they were returning after a two-week long break. To say the least, they played a sleep-inducing game in the first half. It was surprising to see Blasters adopting a defensive strategy in a match played before a big and partisan home crowd.

They should have attacked vigorously straight from the kick-off and sent the supporters into a roaring frenzy. Such a tactic should have pushed Delhi on the back foot. Instead, they defended for the major part of the first half and allowed Delhi to dictate the pace of the game.

After swapping ends, Blasters showed some sense of urgency and stepped up their game, forcing Delhi to tighten up their defence. The team in yellow were much better in build-up and penetration compared to their first-half performance.

And in the end, captain Sandesh Jhingan made a huge mistake and gifted a goal to the rivals. Being a senior pro, he should have cleared the ball in the first place instead of playing it into the danger area. He was lying on ground clutching his calf muscles when Delhi netted the equaliser. That silly mistake was enough to take much of the sheen off of his incredible performance until then.

Blasters have now squandered the opportunity to pocket six points from their two home matches. How are they going to make amends for this?

If the team management sticks with the same defensive tactics in the upcoming home matches, Blasters stand to gain nothing.

(The writer is a former captain of the Indian football team)