Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) [India], December 29 : Jamshedpur FC beat Kerala Blasters FC by 1-0 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 on Sunday.
A second-half strike by Pratik Chaudhari ensured that Jamshedpur FC broke the Kochi-based team's six-game-long unbeaten streak against them. The Men of Steel accordingly jumped four positions from the eighth place to the fourth spot in the standings as a result of this win, now boasting 21 points from 12 matches, as per an ISL press release.
Kerala Blasters FC took their sweet time to get their feet into the proceedings, but their first proper goal-scoring chance emerged through an exemplary effort from Noah Sadaoui in the final third in the 30th minute.
Naocha Singh undertook the direct route, launching a long ball for Noah at the edge of the left side of the 18-yard box. The attacker brought the ball down with a deft first touch. He then had two chances, either to sprint ahead and make a cross with his left foot or cut inside the box. Instead, he made a creative cross from the outside of his boot for Kwame Peprah at the centre of the box. Peprah had ample time to head the ball in, but his aerial effort was directed high and wide to the right off target.
Four minutes later, Javi Hernandez squandered an excellent chance, as he failed to strike the ball to close out a move that he began with his vision from the centre of the field. Hernandez laid the ball for Rei Tachikawa, who passed it on to Imran Khan on the right flank. Imran curled in a cross from distance for Jordan Murray, but Sachin Suresh got at the end of the delivery first. The goalkeeper couldn't clear the ball properly and it ended up landing at Hernandez's feet in the middle of the box. The attacking midfielder's right-footed shot lacked enough power to make its way past the away team's custodian though.
Kerala Blasters FC began the second half on the front foot, and Naocha almost broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute with a thunderous shot from outside of the 18-yard box on the left side upon receiving a pass from Noah. Naocha backed his instincts to test his luck from distance and it required a diving Albino Gomes to save the shot on the bottom left corner.
Jamshedpur FC found the eventual breakthrough from a powerful shot taken by defender Pratik Chaudhari in the 61st minute. The Kerala Blasters FC unit made repeated attempts to clear a cross earned by the Men of Steel, but Chaudhari pounced upon a loose ball and netted it into the bottom left corner to score only his third-ever ISL goal, and first since December 2021 (for BFC vs CFC). Upon conceding this goal, Kerala Blasters FC have now gone an entire calendar year, i.e. 2024, without keeping an away clean sheet, despite playing 14 games on the road in this period.
Seiminlen Doungel came on as a substitute for Imran in the 72nd minute, and made some startling efforts from outside of the box, once each in the 80th and 88th minutes of the match respectively. However, both shots were wayward, and didn't extend their lead, but ensured that Kerala Blasters FC were pushed back in the final 15 minutes of the game.
*Key Performer of the Match
Pratik Chaudhari (Jamshedpur FC)
The defender put in an incredible shift at the back, making nine clearances, in addition to nestling the only strike of the match.
Jamshedpur FC will play their next match against Bengaluru FC on January 4. Kerala Blasters FC are set to feature against Punjab FC on January 5.
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