KOCHI: The sea of ‘yellow fans’ who descended on the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Kaloor to cheer their team were left disappointed as Kerala Blasters suffered a 2-5 rout in their second home match on Sunday.
Dimitri Peters excelled for ATK Mohun Bagan with three goals, dashing the hopes of nearly 40,000 Blasters fans.
Though left speechless by the result, the fans did not give up on their team , saying the Blasters will be back with a bang. “It’s football and we can’t expect our team to win every time. We will bounce back,” said Anoop M, a Blasters fan from Palakkad.
“From the beginning of the game, our players tried to attack, but our defensive midfielders failed contain the Mariners’ attacks. Adrian Luna, who is capable of turning the game around but ATK marked him well. It doesn’t mean that the team can’t winning the next match. We will win,” said Krishnajith R S, a Kunnamkulam native.
Though the fans expected Blasters to dominate throughout, it only lasted for the first 10 minutes and also when they scored the two goals against ATK. This was the fifth clash between the two teams, with the Mariners winning four matches and Blasters none.
ATK’s Malayali player had to face the wrath of the Blasters fans who repeatedly raised slogans against the Malappuram native who had earlier said he was not concerned about where he plays. “It’s our team. They will fight on the ground and we will fight from the stand. It was only because of the fans that ATK coach recalled Ashique in the second half,” said Manoj, another KBFC fan.
Before leaving the stadium, KBFC coach Ivan Vukomanovic and players gave an ‘upper clap salute’, acknowledging the fans’ cheers. Meanwhile, a small number of ATK fans who found a place in the stadium were on cloud nine after their team’s victory. “We never thought that our team, which lost the last match, would unleash such an attacking play against Blasters. It was a real treat for us,” said Anas, an ATK fan from Malappuram.