Kerala Blasters FC progressed to the top of the points table with a narrow 1-0 victory against Hyderabad FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here to round off the Saturday double header of Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24.
Kerala Blasters FC captain Adrian Luna has won the Indian Super League (ISL) Player of the Month award for October 2023, a prize which is given to the best player in the ISL every month.
The Disciplinary Committee of the All India Football Federation on Friday imposed a fine of Rs Four crore on Kerala Blasters FC for walking off the pitch and thereby forfeiting their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) playoff match against Bengaluru FC.
The win is not easy for Odisha FC against a resilient Kerala Blasters side who held them goalless till half-time through astute tactical defending.
Goa took the lead through Jorge Ortiz Mendoza in 25th minute. Rahul KP then equalised for Kerala Blasters in the 57th minute with a brilliant header.
It was the first time that the Kochi-based side scored five goals in an ISL game and the result takes them to the seventh spot in the table while Hyderabad continue to be at the bottom.
Bartholomew Ogbeche and Asamoah Gyan's penalties cancelled each other out as NorthEast continue their unbeaten run on the road, while Kerala Blasters were left without a win since the opening day of the season.
The hosts drew the first blood in the 4th minute through Andre Schembri. However, within 10 minutes of the goal Bartholomew Ogbeche scored the equaliser with a brilliant strike.
Kerala had better chances to score but it was a Piti (38') penalty that broke the deadlock. CK Vineeth (71') added the visitor's second before Raphael Messi Bouli scored a brace (75', 87') to pull his team level.
Sixth-placed Mumbai and eighth-placed Kerala are without a win in their last six matches.
