Kerala Blasters put three goals past Chennaiyin FC in their Wednesday night fixture at the Tilak Maidan. Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Sahal Abdul Samad put the Blasters in the driving seat before half-time and Adrian Luna sealed the points late on.
The victory propelled KBFC to third in the Indian Super League table; the Blasters are level on points and goal difference with second-placed Jamshedpur FC but trail the latter in goals scored. Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Sahal Abdul Samad continued their goalscoring form of late to put KBFC in total control before half-time before Adrian Luna scored his first in the league late on – to seal the points.
Kerala Blasters’ dominance paid off as early as the ninth minute when Pereyra Diaz scored the opening goal. The Argentine forward timed his run to perfection to beat Chennaiyin’s offside trap – a run that was spotted and picked by Lalthathanga Khawlhring with a superb pass over the opposition defense. The forward took a few touches to get the ball under his control and fired a powerful drive across the goalkeeper into the corner.
Chennaiyin responded well to falling behind; the Marina Machans almost equalized in the 25th minute, but for goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill, who parried an inadvertent header from his teammate Jessel Carneiro away to safety. Minutes later, Germanpreet Singh wasted a glorious opportunity to restore parity as the midfielder shot wide with the goal gaping after being set up by Mirlan Murzaev.
Kerala capitalized on their opponents’ inability to finish to go two up in the 38th minute. A scuffed clearance by Vishal Kaith fell into the path of Alvaro Vazquez, and the Spaniard released Sahal down the right. The youngster had his initial shot blocked on the line but was present to convert the rebound.
The Blasters’ dominance continued after the interval as Carneiro rattled the crossbar with a fierce shot from the edge of the box. Luna wrapped up the points for KBFC in the 79th minute with his first in the league. The playmaker’s attempt to release Vazquez was blocked, but he fired the loose ball into the bottom far corner from distance.
