KOCHI: The hordes of Kerala Blasters FC fans who descended on the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Kaloor to cheer their team were left disappointed as the hosts suffered a 3-4 defeat at the hands of Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Wednesday.
Albanian forward Armando Sadiku excelled for the Kolkata side, scoring twice. Blasters’ Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos also struck twice but that proved too late, his second effort coming in time added on with the visitors already up 4-2.
Though Blasters remain in the top six with 29 points, the team needs to perform well in the remaining three games to ensure a spot in the playoffs. As in the last game, the Blasters had to face early attacks, with Mohun Bagan drawing first blood in the fourth minute.
Though the home side showed aggression and bounced back with midfielder Vibin Mohanan equalising after a swift exchange of passes with K P Rahul in the 54th minute, the momentum didn’t last long as Sadiku scored his second on the hour mark.
While the Blasters managed to draw level again through Diamantakos in the 63rd minute, they failed to counter the Mohun Bagan attacks, leaving the fans in shock.
Dejected, fans lashed out against the poor performance of the home players.
“I have been to the stadium for almost all the home matches of KBFC, and unfortunately, the game didn’t meet our expectations,” said Anantheswar Shenoy.