Kerala Blasters did it the hard way at Kaloor on Sunday — scoring twice after falling behind — to register their first win in Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25.
Foreign signings Noah Sadaoui (63) and Kwame Peprah (88) scored for the Men In Yellow before a roaring JLN crowd in Kochi after Vishnu P.V. put East Bengal in front in the 59th minute. Once Noah scored the equalizer, the game turned on its head. It was one-way traffic till the final whistle with the home side calling the shots.
As KBFC get their first points on the board, here are five takeaways from the game that may interest you:
1. Noah Sadaoui must only play on the left
When deployed as a No. 10 in the first match, against Punjab, he kept drifting wide to find more space. Today, starting on the left, he looked dangerous early on. But, as the first half progressed, Sadaoui and Rahul K.P. switched flanks. The Moroccan simply went missing for the remainder of the half.
For all his skill and football intelligence, he does not pose the same threat from the right as he does from the left. His movement in his natural position is more instinctive. Back on the left in the second half, he showed exactly what he is capable of with a delightful goal. He was then moved into the middle as the largely ineffective Danish Farooq was replaced by Mohammed Aimen, whose endeavour created the winner scored expertly by Kwame Peprah. But, Sadaoui’s impact kept diminishing as the half progressed. So, when Adrian Luna is unavailable, the team has to look for another solution than putting Sadaoui at No. 10.
2. EBFC need to go through Jeakson more
Despite the club’s poor start to the season, record signing Jeakson Singh has looked steady as a holding midfielder. But, he is not seeing enough of the ball in possession. The first time he really got hold of the ball in the match was around the 15-minute mark and he immediately made something happen, spraying a measured pass wide to the left. He had one or two more similar moments till he was withdrawn in the second half. But, overall, his impact was well below the desired level.
Jeakson’s team has to start passing to him more. Many times in the match, especially in the first half, he moved into the right spaces to receive the ball in the defensive third, but his centre-backs kept ignoring him. At other times, his teammates did not play the ball back to him when he was in good positions to play incisive passes. Unless East Bengal starts to use Jeakson Singh to control the midfield, they are going to find it difficult to get the upper hand in matches.
3. KBFC have to protect the ball better
It was a well-deserved win on the night for the home team. They had much higher intensity in winning the ball back and constantly looked one or two good passes away from creating an opening. The best opening the team created was headed wide by an unmarked Rahul. Earlier, new signing Jesus Jimenez hit the post from a beautifully worked chance. However, both the goals were the result of individual brilliance from foreign players. In the winner, there was also a defensive mistake that resulted in the ball getting to Peprah. Therefore the team needs to keep hold of the ball better and work to create more high quality chances.
In that regard, reducing the number of attempted long balls and being more patient in possession will definitely help. However, it is clear that the long balls are a part of the game plan. Because the off-the-ball movement ahead of the attempted long balls and the ideas behind the trajectory of the ball are both good. These passes are just not hitting the mark as often as necessary. So, for now, it may be better if such passes are attempted by only a select few players who have higher accuracy, like Vibin Mohanan.
4. Nandhakumar Sekar is getting better with age
Last season, he was EBFC’s second highest scorer with 10 goals in 31 games in all competitions, only behind club captain Cleiton Silva. In the previous seven seasons, from 2016-17 to 2022-23, he scored 16 goals from 97 games. His performances were rewarded with an India call-up in 2023. He has made nine appearances for the national team so far. If his improved performances last season did not convince his doubters, the 28-year-old showed against KBFC why he deserves to start.
Nandhakumar was electric in the first half and created his team’s goal by playing a brilliant pass to Dimitrios Diamantakos who then set up the goalscorer Vishnu P.V. His noteworthy start to the season bodes well for the club as it is not common to see an Indian player with so much flair, creativity and, crucially, end product.
5. Vibin Mohanan must start every home game for KBFC
There was a marked difference in the way the Blasters started this match. And having Vibin in midfield was a major reason behind the improved passing. But, the 21-year-old, who recently penned a contract extension at the club, faded quickly as the match went on. So, perhaps, in the short term, he cannot play 90 minutes consistently. But, even if that is the case, he has to start every match, especially the home games. That will give the team control of the match early on in front of the home crowd. And with the energy and intensity the team consistently shows, this can give them the upper hand against most teams.
Vibin is by no means at his best yet. He is still developing and loses the ball too easily, at times. But, his passing range, vision and intelligent touches in tight spaces more than make up for the current shortcomings in his game. Most importantly, the only way he can overcome his weaknesses is by starting high-pressure matches.
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