KOCHI: The sea of humanity that thronged the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor here on Wednesday to witness local favourites Kerala Blasters’ maiden home fixture returned home disappointed after their side went down to Atletico de Kolkata by solitary goal. However, even the slightest of fans were united in their opinion that Blasters would turn around their fortunes in their upcoming fixtures
It’s this trust from the fans that will propel Blasters in their coming matches. The ardent fans are sure that yellow will be the warmest colour and the team would return to its winning ways. “They will comeback for sure,” opined Alex Mathew, a hardcore fan. That sure summed up the mood. Post Wednesday’s game, several of the supporters criticised the team owners for not loosening the purse strings to hire the services of champion players.
“In the first edition we had Ian hume and David James to lead the team from the front and it was due to their efforts that the team could enter the semifinals. But that story failed to continue in the second and third edition. Even the owners are not showing any interest in securing the services of some key players which led to the outcome of these two games,” said a seething Blasters’ fan Saji S, post-match.
Earlier the fans, who arrived in hordes, thronged the ground enthusiastically hoping to see their favourite team collect full points. Clad in the Blasters’ official team jersey, they danced to the accompaniment of drum beats and shouted for the team at the top of their voice. A section of the crowd, including a sizeable number of female supporters hailing from across the state, had the names of their favourite players painted on their visage. Meanwhile, some others watched the game intently with chants and sighs when the team failed to capitalise on its chances.
Outwardly, the fans may have provided a stark contrast, but there was no mistaking the fact they were all die-hard Blasters’ supporters, who wanted their favourite team to triumph. But that simply didn’t happen much to the chagrin of the supporters.
“There is no meaning in wearing the yellow outfit( Kerala Blasters’ colours) or creating deafening noise when coming to watch the match if the result is like this. We wholeheartedly supported the team but they failed to live up to our expectations. It’s really sad that our efforts to spur the team went in vain ,” said Afsal, who came all the way from soccer crazy Malappuram.
Even though the gates were scheduled to open just three hours before the match, the fans from across the state reached the stadium by 9am. They were fully excited and had a strong confidence in their team.
“We just want victory and nothing else. We have Josu Prieto , Muhammed Rafi in the forward line and the combination will help us to register our first home triumph in this edition of the ISL,” Sudhi, who was taking out a fans’ rally around the stadium, had told Express. Like him were thousands of men. women and kids who came to see yellow brigade prevailing on home turf. However, it was not to be. Though heartbroken, some fans put on a brave face and said their loyalty wouldn’t change with a defeat. Sindhu who came along with her husband Babu and two kids from Kunnamkulam said,” I never missed an ISL match played here. I am not worried about the outcome since victory and defeat are part of the game.Though we lost, I will be here at their next home match and I will lend all my support”. The Kerala Blasters’ fans high-voltage support for the home favourite, which had come in for special praise from FIFA, left even the officials in an upbeat frame of mind. But the mood dampened after the debacle.