ISL: Malayali-led Hyderabad punish sloppy Kerala Blasters in Kochi

Hyderabad FC punished Kerala Blasters' sloppiness in defence to post a shock 2-1 win in the ISL at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Kaloor in Kochi on Thursday. The Blasters have lost three in a row and their home tally this season reads: Played 4, Won 1, Lost 3.

Andrei Alba fired in a penalty in the 70th minute after smashing home the equaliser in the 43rd. Jesus Jimenez had put the Blasters ahead in the 13th minute.  

It should have been a memorable night for the Blasters fans for at least a couple of reasons: 17-year-old developmental player Korou Singh made an assist on his first start for the senior side and Noah Sadaoui marked his return after losing two games with an injury.

Thangboi Singto, former Blasters assistant coach, now in-charge of Hyderabad, made his return memorable with only the second win of the campaign for the visitors, who sit 11th, just a point off their generous hosts, but with a game in hand.

Singto's Hyderabad had five Malayalis, the same number that Mikael Stahre's Blasters had in his matchday squad. Alex Saji captained the visitors and managed to keep the Blasters silent for larger periods while Abdul Rabeeh proved a handful for the home side with his pace.

Midfielder Alba had arrived in time to fire in the equaliser just when the Blasters thought they had done enough to go into the break with a narrow lead after their 2-4 defeat in Mumbai. In the absence of Kwame Peprah, diminutive winger Korou had vindicated his coach's selection by making smart runs. He evaded a challenge before pulling it back into a space that opened up in the centre of the box, and rapidly occupied by Jimenez. The Spanaird calmly slotted in his sixth goal of the ISL season.

Stahre threw in his trump card, Sadaoui in the second half. The return of Rahul KP in place for Korou, after 55 minutes, meant the home side had their best available resources to push for three points. Yet it was Singto's pragmatic approach that stood out. He set up his side to sit deep and hit on the counter. The pace of Rabeeh was vital, and the entry of Edmilson Correia in the second half gave a real headache to the Blasters defence. Milos Drincic, back in the side in place of Pritam Kotal, was beaten for pace when Rabeen got on his ride. The  youngster swung in a cross across to the dismay of Hormipam, who was somehow adjudged to have handled the ball in his desperation to clear it. Alba scored a powerful penalty and the Manjappada went its frustration at referee Surojit Das. But angry fans never won a game.