Jamshedpur FC 3-2 Kerala Blasters FC: 3 reasons why the Red Miners came out on top

Hosts Jamshedpur FC clinched a see-saw game with a 3-2 scoreline against Kerala Blasters FC at the J.R.D Tata Complex to get their first Indian Super League victory after six matches. While Noe Acosta contributed a goal in the first half, Sergio Castel converted a penalty before Bartholomew Ogbeche's own goal gave all 3 points to Jamshedpur.

It was Kerala Blasters who started off on the front-foot with some high pressing resulting in Raphael Messi Bouli opening the scoring in the 11th minute of the match. The goal actually came off an error as a risky back-pass from Bikash Jairu was followed by a poor clearance from goal-keeper Subrata Paul to let Messi Bouli scuff a shot into the back of the net.

While Jamshedpur FC did equalise through a delightful side-footed goal from Noe Acosta, Kerala Blasters seemed to be in the ascendancy even after Abdul Hakku was sent off in the 50th minute. After all, Ogbeche put Kerala ahead once again with a crisp header six minutes later but the game seemed to turn on its head when Sergio Castel made his much awaited comeback in the 66th minute.

Castel marked his return by converting a penalty that was awarded after Messi Bouli handled the ball during an Aitor Monroy corner-kick. From there on, Kerala could have seen out the game to take one point but Ogbeche's own goal in the 86th minute ensured that Jamshedpur took all the 3 points. With this win, Jamshedpur climbed to the 6th spot in the points table with 16 points from 12 matches.

#3 Sergio Castel the super sub acts as the game-changer

Sergio Castel marked his return with a goal while also having a major role to play in the winner

Coming into this match, Jamshedpur had lost three matches and remained winless in six fixtures. The one common link in these games was the absence of Sergio Castel as he was out injured for five out of the six fixtures. Until Castel was there, the entire Jamshedpur FC system seemed to tick with even someone like Farukh Choudhary playing out of his skin as a result of the partnership with the Spaniard.

Even in the first of this match, Jamshedpur lacked an attacking outlet until Castel was subbed on in the 66th minute. The 24-year-old was quick to make an impression with intelligent movements in and around the box. He made himself a menace and even dropped deep to deliver passes to Noe Acosta and Farukh on the flanks.

And when the opportunity came to score via a penalty, Castel showed how clinical he is in front of goal. It took time for the penalty to be taken as Kerala gaffer Eelco Schattorie couldn't be calmed down at all. However, after a slight delay, Castel took the penalty and placed it wide off TP Rehenesh to score the equaliser.

Even after that, Castel typically positioned himself in important areas and this was seen when Bart Ogbeche succumbed under pressure to score an own goal. Just before the ball went in, Castel had missed a free-header but he persisted to wait for the second wave of attack. This is exactly what eventualised as David Grande's attempted cross was turned into the net by Ogbeche with Castel waiting behind him to pounce upon any ball that came near his reach.

While Ogbeche couldn't be criticised for trying to clear the ball, his execution let him down badly and this happens when a forward like Castel piles on the pressure with constant movement around the 6-yard box.

#2 Kerala commit silly mistakes to concede the match

Kerala Blasters made far too many errors on the night. (Credits: ISL)

Kerala Blasters started the match well with an early goal but regular mistakes from their players resulted in a potentially season-ending loss.

Although Kerala's lack of attacking threat after that first goal affected them to an extent, Abdul Hakku's red card and Messi Bouli's hand-ball which gave away a penalty acted as killer blows.

First of all, Abdul Hakku's reckless challenge has to be talked about as it was a moment that could give sleepless nights to manager Eelco Schattorie. This moment happened in the 50th minute of the game when Hakku made a sliding tackle on Grande when the Jamshedpur forward was only at the half-way line. This challenge was questionable not just because of the area of the play where the tackle was made but also the fact that Hakku had already received an yellow card in the first half. As always, the loss of a man resulted in not changing of personnel but also opened up more space for Jamshedpur.

The second mistake occurred when Raphael Messi Bouli handled the ball during a routine corner-kick to give away a penalty. Although Kerala manager Schattorie was left fuming due to the decision but referee Crystal John hadn't made a mistake as Messi Bouli was clearly at fault to have taken his hand to an unnatural position.

After Sergio Castel converted the penalty, Bartholomew Ogbeche made matters worse for Kerala through an own-goal in the dying minutes of the game. This was the final nail in the coffin for a 10-man Kerala team as they left with zero points from a game that should have seen them take all three home.

#1 Jamshedpur stop the supply to Kerala's forwards to curb their attacking threat

Aitor Monroy (extreme right) put in an incredible shift in the middle of the park. (Credits: ISL)

In the first 30-odd minutes, both Ogbeche and Raphael Messi Bouli were making their presence felt by pressurising the Jamshedpur FC even while not having possession. Further, they were also aided by Mario Arques' long balls and Moustapha Gning's lung-bursting forward runs.

In fact, Messi Bouli could have finished the game in the 15th minute itself when Arques' delivered an elegant outside the boot through ball beyond Jamshedpur's last man Tiri. However, the Cameroonian forward smashed his shot over the cross-bar to waste a golden opportunity. During that same move, Tiri also clashed with his goal-keeper Subrata Paul and had to be taken to the hospital for scans. However, Kerala couldn't take advantage of Tiri's absence as the hosts' mid-fielders started to be more proactive in the center of the park.

The duo of Aitor Monroy and Amarjit Singh closed down any available space quickly so that the duo of Arques and Gning can't run into and cause havoc. Also, unlike the first 15-20 minutes, the entire back-line also stopped dwelling on the ball and started clearing whenever the situation arose. Further, the wingers Farukh Choudhary and Noe Acosta also dropped back on a number of occasions to stop Kerala's wide-men from supplying many crosses to Ogbeche and Messi Bouli.

Ofcourse, Kerala's second goal came when Jessel Carneiro found Ogbeche with a delightful cross but it was a rare moment in the game. This is also reflected in the fact that Kerala only managed to get in five crosses in the entire game. With Kerala always depending heavily on Ogbeche and Messi Bouli for the goals, this move turned out to be a key one to ensure victory.