Hyderabad FC vs Kerala Blasters FC LIVE ISL Final 2021-22: Kerala Blasters dominates early proceedings : #RashtraNews
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Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of this evening’s Hyderabad FC vs Kerala Blasters FC Indian Super League (ISL 2021-22) final being played at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa. This is Shyam Vasudevan bringing you all the pre-match buildup and live updates from the final.
26′ Puitea wrestles Joao Victor to the ground and it is a freekick to Hyderabad FC.
We’re just hearing that Javier Siverio has been asked to warm up and it’s only the 23rd minute! Looks like Chianese is well and truly struggling.
21′ Rahul has a go from distance….but he goes for the chip instead of power and it sails into the stands.
20′ A late challenge on Luna from Chianese. Luna gets caught on the ankle, but the referee does not show any cards.
18′ Luna makes a run down the left flank and drills a low cross into the box but there’s no one at the end of it. Yet another good move from Kerala Blasters. Hyderabad has not created any real attacking chance yet.
15′ Joao Victor is lucky to escape a booking there. He slides into a Blasters player but is not penalised. The Blasters faithful, dominating the stands, aren’t very pleased with that to say the least.
14′ A chance for Diaz! Khabra curls in a looping cross towards the centre of the box and Diaz beats his marker in Asish but can’t get the header off. That was a move straight from the training ground – we saw Khabra practicing those crosses yesterday.
Prabhsukhan Gill appears to be in a spot of bother. He’s gone down in a heap and is receiving medical attntion.
11′ First save of the game! Sauvik receives the ball and works his way into space before letting one rip. He strikes it well but it sails into Gill’s palms.
10′ Chianese gets pulled back by Luna, but there’s no real damage done. Chianese made a comeback to the starting XI today.
8′ Rahul KP slides in to win the ball in the attacking third and there’s a hint of handball, but the referee sees nothing wrong there. Rahul’s coloured his hair blue for the final! A lucky charm perhaps?
7′ That was a good-looking ball that was meant to split the defence and find Vazquez….but Chinglensana intercepts to perfection. The Blasters are pushing Hyderabad deep into its half.
5′ The two sides are evenly-placed when it comes to their head to head stats – both sides have won thrice in the six games they’ve played.
4′ That’s a nasty tackle from Sandeep. He catches Yasir on the ankle and is booked! Sandeep was way too late on that tackle and picks up a yellow card. He’s got to be very very cautious now!
1′ A lovely long ball sees Luna storm into the box and square it for Vazquez, but Akash swoops in to clear the danger. How delicate was that touch from Luna? Wow!
1′ KICK OFF!
7-30 pm- And we are underway!
7-20 pm- What are the coaches saying?
Manolo Marquez on the season’s overall assessment: “I think that it was a hard season, especially in terms of mentality. But I think that we have a very good thing, which is our strength in the group, that we have, with the players, and with the staff and all are working in the same direction. I think that the club is growing step by step, season by season. We were very, very close last season. This season we finished second and we’ll always have the doubt of what would happen if we played the match against Jamshedpur FC with a full-strength squad. If we had won that game, we could have been the League Winners’ Shield holders.” Ivan Vukomanovic on fans being present for the finals: “As a former player and now as a coach, we play football for the fans. I think that in the last couple of months playing without the fans was weird. It was not nice playing in empty stadiums. It was not a good feeling. Now the fact that we know we’re going to play in front of the fans, it’s extra motivation for the players because again, that’s what they’re playing for. As a boy you dream about playing in front of crowds. You dream about playing for your people, your town, your city, defending your colors, your logo on your chest. So tomorrow I think it will be a pleasure because that’s the joy of football.” |
7-00 pm- STAT!
Hyderabad FC and Kerala Blasters FC have not lost a single match after scoring first this season. KBFC has won 10 and drawn 4 after scoring first while HFC have won 9 and drawn 1 of their matches.
On the other hand, KBFC have not won a single match after conceding the first goal this season.
6-40 pm: It is great to see the fans back!
Fans cheers as Kerala Blasters FC players arrive on the ground before the start of the Final – Focus Sports/ISL
6-34 pm: Starting lineups are out!
Hyderabad FC Starting XI: Kattimani(GK); Asish, Chinglesana, Juanan, Mishra; Sauvik, Joao, Yasir, Aniket; Chianese, Ogbeche
Subs: Gurmeet(GK); Nim; Khassa, Sahil, Hitesh, Halicharan, Mark; Aaren, Siverio.
Coach: Manolo Marquez
Kerala Blasters Starting XI: Gill(GK); Ruivah, Marko, Sandeep; Khabra, Jeakson, Lalthathanga, Luna; Rahul, Vazquez, Diaz.
Subs:
Coach: Ivan Vukomanovic
6-15 pm: Head-To-Head record!
Overall: Kerala Blasters FC and Hyderabad FC have won 3 matches apiece against each other. There have been no draws in the 6 encounters between these two clubs.
This season: Both teams have won a match each. Kerala Blasters FC got the better of Hyderabad in their first meeting in January. Both teams went into the match on an eight-match unbeaten run. Hyderabad FC came out on top in the second meeting between the two in the league stage.
6-00 pm- Our predicted XI for tonight’s final!
Hyderabad FC Predicted XI: Laxmikant Kattimani (GK), Nim Dorjee, Chinglensana Singh, Juanan, Akash Mishra, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Joao Victor (C), Yasir Mohammad, Aniket Jadhav, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Javier Siverio.
Kerala Blasters FC Predicted XI: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Ruivah Hormipam, Marko Leskovic, Sanjeev Stalin, Harmanjot Khabra, Sahal Samad, Ayush Adhikari, Adrian Luna (C), Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Alvaro Vazquez and Jorge Diaz.
MATCH PREVIEW
The Indian Super League (ISL) 2019-20 final was the first ISL match to be held behind closed doors at the Pandit Jawaharlal Stadium in Fatorda (Goa) amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak. A year later, the same stadium is set to open its gates for the fans after two years as Hyderabad FC and Kerala Blasters gear up to smear the stadium yellow on Sunday.
Kerala Blasters will hope the third time’s the charm after failing to lift the trophy in its two earlier appearances in the ISL summit clash. It comes into the match on a five-match unbeaten run and will look to wrap up what has been the club’s most successful season this far. The last team KBFC lost in the league was against Hyderabad FC — its opponent in the final.
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Manolo Marquez’s men have risen from the bottom of the table to the top-two of the Championship in two years and will eye the title in their very first appearance in the final.
The two sides have equally divided stakes with each side winning three matches each in the six clashes between them and every alternate match had a different winner.
Kerala’s strength lies in its counter-attacks
Kerala’s strength has been attacking on the counter, with long balls arriving from the midfield into the box, aiding forwards Alvaro Vazquez and Jose Pereyra Diaz to guide the ball into the net. The same strategy crushed a defensively solid Jamshedpur FC and coach Ivan Vukomanovic is likely to stick to the same plan that has pulled his side to the very end of the tournament.
Adrian Luna, who has been his target man in attack and orchestrates attacks from midfield, however, remains uncertain to start in the finals. Vukomanovic stated that he had taken a knock in the morning. The Uruguayan has scored six goals and crafted seven assists for the Blasters, including a goal in their previous match, and his absence may be a big blow to the three-time finalist.
A ray of hope for them, however, might be a possible return for Sahal Abdul Samad, who had been sidelined in the second leg of the semifinal with a hamstring injury. “Sahal Samad practised today morning and will join the team in the evening session,” Vukomanovic told the press before the match.
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At the back, KBFC has had the firm pairing of Hormipam Ruivah and Marko Leskovic, with the team having eight clean sheets – the most in the league, as compared Hyderabad’s three.
The last time Kerala Blasters reached the finals, Steve Coppell was the coach and Vukomanovic was managing a club in Slovakia, while Hyderabad FC had not been formed.
The Blasters finished second from the bottom in the league last season and in a year, have earned double the number of points (34) they managed the last time, have beaten the ISL League Winners’ Shield winner, Jamshedpur FC, in the semifinals, and stormed into their third final in the league’s history – the first in six years.
Hyderabad dangerous in set-pieces
Hyderabad FC has been stifled by a coronavirus outbreak but has managed to sail through the semis owing to its attacking prowess and squad depth. “We have prepared all this for this moment,” said HFC captain Joao Victor in the pre-match press conference.
“I think we have tried all our life to play in a game like this. For Bart (Bartholomew Ogbeche), Sana (Chinglensana Singh), it is very important for us. It is hard being in a bubble, being away from the family is hard,” he added.
The Nizams have been extremely dangerous through set-pieces and have scored 12 goals from such situations – double of how many goals the Blasters have scores from set-pieces.
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Javier Siverio has been Hyderabad’s prodigal striker, starting the season as a super-sub and making his way into the starting eleven. Marquez’s side has scored the most goals in the tournament and has the highest goal scorer this season as well as in the League’s history, Ogbeche to lead its attack.
“I am very satisfied with the players. It has been a pleasure coaching these players. It is just one game and anything can happen,” HFC head coach Marquez said.
“You can expect everything in the finals because the situation now is better, because at the same time last month, we did not know which players were fit, as we had seven players who had gone from the hotel straight to the beach,” he added.
When HFC went behind in the first leg of the semifinal against ATK Mohun Bagan, it was Ogbeche who opened the scoring for Hyderabad. However, with Edu Garcia leaving, the Nizams have been forced to push the Nigerian back to the No. 10 position (of an attacking midfielder) in a 4-2-3-1 shape with Siverio heading the attack.
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That very shape may be the be-all and end-all for HFC, for KBFC has mastered squeezing out an opposition playing in that shape, i.e. Jamshedpur FC. Greg Stewart, JFC’s No. 10, was cornered by Hormipam Ruivah and Harmanjot Khabra in the semifinal. Whether Ogbeche awaits that fate or not, however, will only be seen in the final.
Marquez arrived at Hyderabad FC after the team’s disastrous opening season where it finished at the bottom of the league table. Within two years, he had galvanized the side into a relentless set of sporting individuals playing beautiful football.
As Goa gets to witness a full-capacity of fans into the stadium back again, it is certain that yellow will lift the trophy — whether it is the first-time finalist Hyderabad FC, or the three-time finalist Kerala Blasters.
Where can you watch the final?
The Hyderabad FC vs Kerala Blasters FC match will start at 7-30pm and will be telecast live on the Star Network (SD and HD). It will also be live streamed in the OTT Platform, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV. |
( News Source :Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Rashtra News staff and is published from a sportstar.thehindu.com feed.)
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