Kolkata: Kerala Blasters FC put on a strong display that led to a 2-1 victory against East Bengal FC at the Salt Lake Stadium here in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday night. The win also took Blasters to the top of the table with 13 points from six games.
It was their charismatic captain Adrian Luna who steered Blasters to a crucial victory on the road before the team heads into the international break.
The Uruguayan was constantly teasing the East Bengal backline, finding out opportunities that could help him create a chance out of nowhere. One such chance emerged in the 32nd minute, as Luna spotted a disoriented opposition defence and carved it open with a crafty pass for fellow teammate Daisuke Sakai.
The 26-year-old immediately rushed into the box, tricked Mohamad Rakip with quick footwork and shot the ball past Prabhsukhan Singh Gill to hand his side the lead. Sakai thus became only the fourth Japanese player to score a goal in ISL history, after Cy Goddard, Katsumi Yusa, and Rei Tachikawa.
If Luna has been Blasters' star in attack, young goalkeeper Sachin Suresh has come up as a surprise package at the back. His distribution has been commendable, recording a 57 per cent passing success rate in six appearances so far. However, it his shot-stopping that has made heads turn, as he saved a penalty in his second successive game. Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva had a golden opportunity to draw scores level in the 85th minute, but Sachin dived to his right and saved the shot amidst joyous celebration from his teammates, becoming the first goalkeeper in ISL history to save penalties in consecutive matches.
The penalty was retaken since Sachin had moved off the line early. Silva's second attempt too was saved by Sachin and the forward shot the rebound over.
Sachin had saved a penalty in Blasters' 2-1 win over Odisha FC last week.
East Bengal were shaken for a bit after that event, and the Blasters immediately capitalised as Sandeep Singh’s delivery to Dimitrios Diamantakos met little resistance with the effort eventually being converted into a goal in the 88th minute. The Greek striker was shown his second yellow card soon afterwards though for removing his jersey, thus getting sent off in the 89th minute. That one-man advantage led to the home side earning a spot-kick in the ninth minute of added time, and Silva did convert the penalty this time around.
