KOCHI: The desperation over their team’s recent form just was waiting to boil over. As Sunday’s ISL match between Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) and Mohammedan SC was about to start, outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium the Manjappada fan club staged a protest with banners that read: ‘Leaders or Liars?’ Contrived or not, the disapproval rubbed off on spectators, who remained silent for a large part of the fixture: There was no chanting and no excitement.
Late into the second half, however, there was a change of mood. When Alexandre Coeff scored the Blasters’ third goal in the final minute of regular time, the ‘silent treatment’ was shown the door as local fans started cheering for the players.
With flashlights switched on and slogans being chanted, spectators celebrated the much-awaited 3-0 victory of the club -- just their fourth in 13 matches this season and the first after three straight defeats. The team were playing their first match after the sacking of coach Mikael Stahre.
“We organised a protest to raise our concerns about strategy, squad depth and approach to the competition. The team is now in the bottom half of the table. After the match against Bengaluru FC, we had informed the management about the protest. We want the team to emerge from the setbacks,” a Manjappada member said.
“The mood in the stadium was unprecedented. There were more empty seats. But we were over the moon by the end of the match, with the team winning 3-0,” another fan said.