Kerala Blasters fans experienced a gamut of emotions in their Indian Super League opener against Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor in Kochi on Sunday. First, there was hope as the game ticked toward the finish, then silence as the visitors went ahead in the 86th minute through a Luca Majcen penalty.
There was jubilation all around in the stands two minutes into added time when Jesus Jimenez headed home the equaliser. But fate had reserved a moment of heartbreak for the Manjappada as Filip Mrzljak turned in a Punjab winner on 90+5. In less than 10 minutes, the game took one on a roller-coaster ride.
Substitutes rewrote the script. Punjab's Kozhikode winger Leon Augustine was first. He dashed into the box and invited a challenge from Muhammed Saheef on debut. The former Bengaluru FC player screamed as the referee pointed to the spot. But fellow substitute Majcen, whose absence from the starting XI was surprising, outdid the young Malayali's celebrations by uprooting the corner flag after beating Sachin Suresh from the spot.
But the Blasters, too, had a game-changer, one who had been signed to fill in the shoes of their leading marksman from last season, Dimitrios Diamantakos. Jimenez, who replaced Kwame Peprah at half-time, out-jumped his marker to head down the equaliser.
Then came the final push, there was no script, it was mayhem. Though the Blasters supporters wished for their players to show up with some magic, it arrived at the other end. Majcen held up the ball and, while falling under a challenge, managed to spot Mrzljak's run and, more importantly, find him with a subtle pass. The pass took the Croatian wide; he had to stretch to reach it, but he did manage to find a touch, a gentle one that was enough to send the ball rolling in, on an angle, with Sachin stranded.
It was supposed to be the perfect night for Blasters on the auspicious occasion of Thiruvonam, and their new head coach, Mikael Stahre, showed he was adaptable and not unwilling to change. To start with, he had tried out a fluid system that transformed into a 4-2-4 in possession and shaped into a 4-4-2 when chasing the ball.
When Punjab head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis cut Mrzljak loose and put pressure on Blasters debutant Alexandre Coeff, Stahre knew he had to tweak. So he replaced Mohammed Aimen with Vibin Mohanan. The switch that also happened at half-time reinforced the Blasters midfield.
Meanwhile, Noah Sadaoui breathed freshness into Stahre's ambitious style of play, roaming around the final third and making himself difficult to mark. In the absence of club captain Adrian Luna, who was missing from the matchday squad, Sadaoui seemed to enjoy his free role. He also forced a save from Ravi Kumar in the second half.
Maybe one day, soon, things will fall in place, and the Blasters will score as freely as they moved around the ball in the initial exchanges tonight. But that is a story for some other day.
