Kerala Blasters win first ISL 2026 match at home of Bengaluru FC. What can be sweeter than that?

No matter what happens to Kerala Blasters at the end of the season, the night they secured their first win of ISL 2026 at the den of their arch-rivals Bengaluru FC will always be remembered.

The Blasters defeated 10-man Bengaluru 2-1 at a hostile Sree Kanteerava Stadium to end their horrible run of seven games with just a point. For Ashley Westwood, who famously delivered BFC two I-League titles in their nascent years, it was a special sort of homecoming too because he bagged the first win of his tenure as interim manager of the Blasters in front of his former employers.

Fallou Ndiaye scored an own goal in the 27th minute to give Bengaluru a 1-0 lead, but the turning point in the match came six minutes later when Braian Sanchez was sent off following an off-the-ball altercation, which involved an act deemed as violent by the referee.

The numerical advantage inspired the visitors to search for that elusive win. The equaliser came in the 60th minute, when striker Victor Bertomeu, returning from a suspension, finished off an Ebindas effort. It was the first goal the Blasters scored under Westwood as his opening match had ended 0-2 in favour of SC Delhi.

The Blasters introduced their latest signing, Francisco Abalo (Franchu) in the 74th minute. The club’s fans had not been quite happy about the management’s untimely signings, with the Manjappada expressing it quite harshly soon after the arrival of Franchu. However, the timing of the introduction of the Argentine could not have been more critical as he scored the winner within four minutes of entering the act.

Franchu went past his marker and finished elegantly at the near post. Bengaluru’s efforts to find an equaliser did not yield results and the underdogs prevailed.

The Blasters and BFC have had an intense rivalry going on for years. The highlight of the tension between the two sides was witnessed during a playoff match at the same venue that became infamous for a walkout initiated by then-coach Ivan Vukomanovic in 2023. The fan favourite coach committed the act of dissent in protest of a controversial free-kick goal scored by Sunil Chhetri.

This win has given the Blasters a four-point cushion over Mohammedan in the relegation spot. The Blasters next play NorthEast United at home in Kochi on April 15.