I-League 2018-19: 3 reasons why Real Kashmir won against Aizawl FC

After some initial hiccups, Real Kashmir finally find their feet in the I-League. The club registered its third win of the campaign by beating Aizawl FC 1-0 at TRC Turf Ground in Srinagar on Wednesday. This is their second successive win at home after beating Indian Arrows in their previous match.

Scores of crowd packed the stadium despite uncertainty about the match in the valley. But those who showed up went back home with a smile on their face.

Bazie Armand, the Ivorian playmaker, made all the difference again with his 30th minute strike, which was enough for his team to collect all the three points.

With this win, Real Kashmir climbed up to fourth position in the table with 10 points from six matches. Aizawl remained on ninth with just five points from seven matches.

Let us look at the three reasons which ensured Real Kashmir’s victory:

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#3 Overall improvement of Kashmir’s performance

The sloppy movements of Real Kashmir players that we’ve witnessed in the last few matches are now gone. They are now more confident, perhaps knowing the fact that they can play at this level and challenge other teams.

The Real Kashmir players who took the field against Aizawl were a vastly improved set. They were more organised in defence, had more confident players in the midfield and strikers also found rhythm which was missing.

In defence, Mason Robertson took all the responsibility but it was really impressive to see Abhas Thapa so confident with his abilities. Throughout the match, he anticipated the ball very well and made useful tackles whenever necessary. He brought his body beautifully to keep away a header from Albert Zohmingmawia, which was on target. The man-to-man marking of Real Kashmir made life tough for both Aizawl’s strikers.

Goalkeeper Bilal Khan’s contribution should also be mentioned. During the match, he came out of his line quite a few times and kept the ball away from the opponent. He made a couple of good saves in the second half too.

The wingers also kept crossing ball on Aizawl’s box on regular intervals and Surchandra Singh and Nagen Tamang should get credit for that.

#2 The home side got lucky as Aizawl failed to make chances count

Alfred Jaryan of Aizawl FC

Aizawl came to match much boosted by a dominant home win against East Bengal. Moreover, defender Kareem Omoloja was back in his team after being sidelined for the last few matches due to an injury.

Defensively, Aizawl’s performance was much better compared to the last few matches. They kept their shape tight and never allowed opponent strikers the space to beat them. The only mistake they did resulted in a goal for Real Kashmir.

Gnohere Krizo and Kofi Tetteh were marked by the Aizawl defenders tightly but Bazie was left open. The Ivorian was standing near the goalkeeper and Surchandra’s delivery fell straight to him. He had no problem to head the ball into the net, much to the disappointment of Aizawl players as they realised what mistake they have just committed.

On the attacking front too, Aizawl were impressive, having two experienced attackers like Leonce Dodoz and Ansumanah Kromah. But the profligacy of the latter in front of the goalmouth came to haunt them yet again.

When Albert’s shot hit the bar and fell to him, Kromah had an open net in front of him and a simple touch would have been enough to score a goal. Instead, he tried to do a Zlatan Ibrahimovic using his back-heel and the ball went over the bar.

In the second half, Dodoz dropped down a little to create chances for Kromah. That move didn’t help due to the solid midfield organisation of Real Kashmir. Kromah once again wasted a golden chance five minutes before the match, when he lost his balance and his shot went over the bar.

#1 Change in strategy helped Real Kashmir immensely

Kofi impressed with his performance

Gnohere Krizo scored the only the first goal for Real Kashmir in this season’s I-League on October 31, 2018. Since then, he failed to find the back of the net. In most of the matches thereafter, he missed a lot of chances trying to do everything on his own.

Sensing danger, Real Kashmir coach David Robertson introduced Kofi Tetteh who partnered Krizo in the upfront. This tactical change proved successful in the first attempt as both the strikers combined well in attack.

The threat in the attack was missing from Real Kashmir’s game. Also, Krizo was playing as a lone striker and was often surrounded by the defenders. In this match, he played with freedom knowing that he had a partner with whom he can share passes with.

Kofi was also impressive and sometimes moved to the flanks to provide crosses. Krizo had almost scored from this kind of situation in the 74th minute when his header from Kofi’s delivery hit the post and went wide.

Krizo should be unlucky not to get a goal as he missed back-to-back chances in the last ten minutes.