The first match of ISL was played between Kerala Blasters and East Bengal. The thrilling match was in the name of Kerala Blasters
Kerala Blasters started with a win
The new season of the country’s First Division Football League ISL started on Friday. The first match of the season took place between Kerala Blasters and East Bengal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Kerala Blasters made a stellar start to their journey with a thumping 3-1 win over East Bengal here. No goal was scored in the first half of the match while in the second half the whole match was turned upside down. In the victory of Kerala Blasters in the match, Ivan Kalizhi of Ukraine played an important role, who scored two goals. Apart from him, Andrian Luna also scored for Kerala Blasters. Which was the first goal of the match and of the season. Alex Lima scored the only goal for East Bengal.
Fans return after two years
After two years, fans were finally allowed to enter the stadium for the ISL. A different atmosphere was seen with the return of the fans. For the first time after COVID, the stadium looked packed with spectators. The match was very exciting. Coach Ivan Vukomanovic’s team Kerala showed a great game after half time. All the goals of the match came in the last 18 minutes.
No goal scored in the first half
No one went goalless in the first half. During this both the teams got some opportunities but no one could put the ball inside the net. In the first few minutes, East Bengal played a fast-paced game but as the game progressed, the hosts began to take control. This season and the first goal of the match came in the 71st minute, when Adrian Luna scored with a fine volley. This goal gave Kerala Blasters a 1-0 lead. In the 81st minute, Ivan Kalizhai scored his first four ICL touches to extend Kerala’s lead to 2-0. He quickly entered the box with the ball on the next breath and scored a goal by overtaking East Bengal goalie Kamaljeet with a right footer shot.
last minute adventures
In the 87th minute, East Bengal’s Brazilian midfielder Alex Lima scored a goal to cut Kerala’s lead to 2-1. He scored the goal by hitting the ball with a left footer shot on the rebound. In the 88th minute, Ivan Kalizhayi completed the double in his very first match to make the score 3-1 in favor of Kerala. Luna’s corner kick was cleared by the East Bengal defender from the header but Ivan, who was outside the box, scored with a hard shot with a right footer.
