Kerala Blasters have won another game in the 10th edition of the Indian Super League and pocketed three vital points to move jump to 16 points. However, the Yellow Brigade were unconvincing in their 1-0 win against bottom-dwellers Hyderabad FC on Saturday. To put it simply, Blasters could not make use of the home advantage to register a big win over a struggling side.
In fact, Hyderabad should be grateful to Blasters' profligate forward line-up for the narrow defeat. The absence of striker Dimitrios Diamantakos, who sat out after collecting a red card in the match against East Bengal, was hugely felt. Kwame Peprah was expected to fill the void left by Diamantakos, but the Ghanaian, despite being the lone foreign striker in the squad, failed miserably once again.
You need a little bit of luck too as far as scoring goals is concerned. However, the main job of a forward is to stretch the opposition's defence and offer goal-scoring threats. To be honest, Peprah has so far failed to fulfill that role. The striker's poor form could be a serious issue for Blasters in the upcoming matches against formidable opponents.
I'm waiting to see Peprah score a goal. Often, strikers go through lulls in goal-scoring form, but one goal will be enough to rediscover their scoring touch. I hope Peprah will soon be back among the goals.
Although Blasters could score only one goal against Hyderabad, they have reasons to be happy with their performance. The team's midfield and backline did exceptionally well. The goalkeeper too had a great game.
(The writer is a former captain of Indian football team)
