When Bengaluru cut the lead to 10 minutes left in the game, the home camp was a little worried, but the Blasters held strong and won their fifth game in a row. After defeating Bengaluru FC 3-2 on Sunday at the Nehru Stadium here, the Kerala Blasters continued their rise up the ISL ladder, moving from sixth to fourth thanks to a large home crowd.
The Blasters appeared to be upbeat, having won their previous four games. Although Bengaluru’s captain Sunil Chhetri was brought down by goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill in the 14th minute, Bengaluru scored a penalty to take the lead. They appeared to be dangerous because they frequently advanced through the right side.
After ten minutes, the Blasters scored with a free kick from outside the box from Adrian Luna. It bounced back off the left post, Sandeep Singh took advantage of it and sent a cross from the right. Mark Leskovic saw it and tapped it into the corner, giving goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh no chance.
Just before the break, the Blasters took the lead. Adrian Luna cleverly crossed into the box after sneaking up from the left. Diamantakos Dimitrios, a Greek forward for the Blasters, slammed it home after Bengaluru defender Sandesh Jhingan failed to stop it. After receiving a pass from Diamantakos in the 68th minute.
Australian midfielder Apostolos Giannou came off the bench and almost immediately increased the Blasters’ lead. Giannou ran in, evaded goalkeeper Gurpreet, and scored with an angled shot while a defender was following him. There was a touch of tension in the home camp when Bengaluru’s Javier diminished the edge with a blazing shot a little ways from the end.
However, the Blasters remained solid to dominate their fifth consecutive match. The outcome: Mark Leskovic 25, Diamantakos Dimitrios 43, and Apostolos Giannou 70 scored Kerala Blasters 3 goals against Bengaluru FC 2 goals against Sunil Chhetri 14-p, Javier Hernandez 81.