ISL: Blasters, East Bengal desperate to pick up first win

Kerala Blasters and SC East Bengal will aim to register their first win of the Indian Super League (ISL) Season 7, when they meet at the GMC Stadium, here on Sunday.

Both teams have conceded 10 goals in their five matches. While their respective defences seem to be vulnerable, their misfiring forwards are another huge concern. Blasters have had the lowest shots in the league (39) while the Kolkata side are second-lowest with 48.

Despite having good starts in games, both sides have failed to keep the momentum and dropped points from promising positions. Eight of the ten goals that both sides have conceded have come after the break, highlighting their second-half struggles.

“Every match is a new challenge. We are in a similar situation. Both teams want to get three points. We are training well and trying to prepare for the match in the very best possible way. Hopefully, we can play a good game tomorrow,” said Blasters coach Kibu Vicuna.

“Sometimes we have good results, sometimes we don't,” added Vicuna.

Like Blasters, East Bengal too have a similar philosophy of maintaining possession and building play from the back. But despite dominating possession, creating chances has been quite a struggle for them as well.

Blasters have created the least chances in the league (31) while East Bengal are just above them with (36). They may have not picked up a point yet but East Bengal coach Robbie Fowler is confident in his side’s abilities and wants them to concentrate better.

So far, East Bengal have only scored two goals, through Jack Maghouma, which came in their previous game against Hyderabad FC. The Kolkata giants will be hoping to add to their tally given Blasters’ defensive woes — they have managed to register just one clean sheet so far.

”What we want to do is have control of the game, of the ball and win games,” said Fowler. “The concentration level needs to be a little bit better, formations for me doesn't really matter. We have gone out there with the belief that we can win games. We have shown a lot of glimpses we can compete. There have been certain incidents which may have gone against us at times but there's nothing between us and the other teams.”

(With inputs from ISL Media)