ISL: Wounded Blasters to clash with high-flying Bengaluru in first knockout match

Kerala Blasters FC will take on Bengaluru FC in the first knockout match of the Indian Super League season at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.

The winner will face league shield winners Mumbai City FC in a two-legged semifinal. ATK Mohun Bagan and Odisha FC will play the second knockout match on Saturday to meet Hyderabad in the second semifinal.

But for now, the spotlight is on the Bengaluru-Blasters contest that will kick off at 7.30 pm.

Bengaluru is the team in form, having won eight matches in a row to finish fourth in the points table. The Blasters, on the other hand, have had a lacklustre 2023 thus far.

Since the New Year, the Blasters have won just three of their nine matches and lost the most recent three, including a 0-1 defeat to Bengaluru at the same venue where they meet again after three weeks.

But all that could change in a one-off knockout contest, so believes Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic.

“Many teams in the league have had winning runs like the one for Bengaluru FC, every team has momentum once in a season when you are doing well. Anything is possible in the ISL. Football is a beautiful game, and we have full belief and faith in the team to get the result. We will do everything to get the qualification. It does not matter what form a team is in because when it comes to the playoffs, it is about one game,” Vukomanovic said on the eve of the match.

The Blasters had over 60% possession and twice as many passes as Bengaluru made in their last meeting. But a Roy Krishna goal in the 32nd minute for Bengaluru proved to be the telling difference. “..we need to find a way to get the results in the knockout game,” Vukomanovic said.

His counterpart, Simon Grayson, has urged his players to play with passion and desire. The Englishman has said beating Blasters in their most recent meeting has given them 'extra confidence'. "But this is a different game. It is a one-off game," Grayson said.

"We have to be hard to play against when we get opportunities to be ruthless and play with your head as well as your heart, play with the passion and desire that's embroiled in these games, but you got to make sure you don't do something.. that is going to cost the team in the long term (view) of the game," Grayson has urged his players.