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INDIA'S U-17 LADS ARE TAKING ON RUSSIA TONIGHT!!!
DO FOLLOW SOUMALYA MOITRA'S LIVE BLOG FOR A BLOW BY BLOW ACCOUNT OF THINGS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK!
60,000 Malayalees go home disappointed but having seen the best 1-0 game they probably ever will. It was end-to-end, fast, with some decent touches from both sets of players. Kolkata's wing play - especially Doutie on the right - was exceptional, and they held their own in the middle of the park. They look like pretty strong contenders for the title here!
Arguably the most ridiculous stat of the match was that Kerala had 0 shots on target, and they were behind Kolkata in all the stats comparisons - most importantly, of course, in the one that mattered most. This describes Kerala's match in a microcosm - they seemingly bossed the game but were behind at the end of it all.
The Kaloorstadion crowd was simply exceptional, and it really felt like they could have pushed Kerala over the line. The home crowd deserves better results - and Coppell's men will be acutely aware of that!
It's been an absolute pleasure bringing this match to you!
Anirudh Menon signing out, thanks so much for reading, and enjoy reading our superb collection of EXCLUSIVE interviews.
Toodle - ooo!!
Some great post match reading for you guys coming up...
Phew! I need to get my breath back here.
AND it is too deep!!
90' + 5' UFFF!!!! ANOTHER CORNER!!! BELFORT's header is tipped away for another corner...
90' + 4' Josu lifts a superb ball into the box. JHINGAN GETS ON THE END OF IT... DEBJIT DOES WELL TO CUT IT OUT!
90' + 3' Hume does excellently to win a throw off Jhingan. Extremely poor throw from Das as he comes in with a foul throw - how a professional footballer can do that, I'll never know
90' + 2' Kerala are throwing everything at the Kolkata box now - the kitchen sink, the kitchen and the whole damn house. WHAT A CONCLUSION TO THE MATCH!
90' + 1' YELLOW FOR BELFORT for diving. That is horrendous refereeing from the ref. Ralte definitely rammed into Belfort and that looked like a CLEAR penalty!! This will not help Coppell's mood, nor the crowd's
5 minutes added on
90'... CHANCE FOR KERALA!!! JUUUUST WIDE BY HENGBART!!! that was a golden chance!!
89' A superb ball in from Josu is nodded behind by Das. Inanity ensues during te taking of the corner as Mehtab and Josu both walk away before the corner is finally taken...
88' Despite the Kerala lads attacking constantly, its amazing that they've not worked the Kolkata goalkeeper enough
86' Chopra with a delicious little scoop that would have reached Belfort if it were not for the heroics of Tiri. The central defender's acrobatic clearance makes sure Belfort doesn't have a free shot at the Kolkata goal
85' YELLOW for Ralte as he clatters into German. From the ensuing freekick Hengbart hurtles into Debjit and the Kolkata goalie goes down in a heap. The ref had already whistled for offside, so no controversy there
82' SUBSTITUTION - Raja OFF, Bikramjit ON,
A bit of unnecessary drama there - Jewel Raja is on the floor holding his leg -looked like a sudden bout of cramps (understandable given the heat). Chopra takes exception to the Kolkata midfielder's pain and tries to single handedly drag him away. Jhingan has to push him to restore some semblance of sanity to proceedings
80' A very nice fake from Mehtab Hossain takes out one defender but his shot is blocked. Belfort picks up the ball and with a moment of pure magic takes the ball away from two onrushing Kolkata defenders. He gives it to German, whose 'go' is blocked really well. It's back to the wall defending from the Bengalis
79' The crowd have gone a little silent now - Coppell's men need to score to lift them
77' SUBSTITUTION - the EXCELLENT Doutie OFF, Ralte ON. Doutie was exceptional today and looks exhausted, rightly receives a congratulatory pat from his manager
76' Chopra is moving about with the agility of a beached whale. Mondal nips in before the Kerala striker and clears Rafique's clever ball in
75' YELLOW for Rafique. It was a fairly innocuous looking challenge at first look, but the Assamese ref doesn't believe so. His is obviously the opinion that matters here
74' Salim Doutie does supremely well to keep a long put in. He races down the right and puts the ball in for Raja Shaikh. The midfielder's first time shot is scandalously poor
73' Belfort receives the ball, and does what he does best - turns immediately and runs straight at goal - he slips in German, but the striker's ball into the box is rubbish.
72' SUBSTITUTION - Nazon OFF, Chopra ON. I cannot overstate how ridiculous that Messi-blonde hair looks on the former Newcastle striker.
71' A poor choice from Belfort, as he misses the overlapping Josu and Borja clears - unceremoniously whacking the ball away
70' That's a tired foul from Kerala and Javi Lara plays a cute pass to set Das free but Chaudhari does brilliantly to clear the ball, and Kerala attack...
69' Kerala are amping it up now. German rampages down the left, and puts the ball in early - Mondal does well to clear it
68' Belfort is in the thick of the action right away, but he runs juuust offside
67' SUBSTITUTION - Farukh Chaudary OFF, Kervens Belfort ON. This is a POWER PACKED frontline now for Kerala
65' German is a bit selfish here, and attempts to shoot from way out. It hits Tiri and is cleared from any discernible danger
64' Ndoye is down with cramp now. I haven't mentioned the Senegalese midfielder much, but he and Mehtab Hossain have run their lungs out in the middle of that Kerala side.
63' SUBSTITUTION - Stack OFF, Sandip Nandy ON. Stack looks absolutely wasted - and it's a smart if slightly unusual substitution
62' The Blasters are taking the unsophisticated approach here - lumping it forward, and letting German and Nazon wreak havoc
61' Kerala are looking increasingly disjointed here, and Kolkata are pressing with far more intensity.
60' Kolkata win another corner and the ball works its way to Javi Lara. The Spaniard is brimming with confidence, but his shot hones in row Z
58' Kolkata are pressing high up now, and Hume puts Hengbart under pressure. The Frenchman does well to not concede a corner, and Kerala immediately win the ball back from the throw in
57' Javi Lara with a corner for Kolkata... but it's too deep and German breaks with extreme prejudice. But Mondal stands tall and whacks it clear
55' Kerala still look much the more confident on the ball, but Kolkata have that goal - and that seems to have settled their nerves.
54' Kerala had only two wins in the last season at home - this despite the ridiculously brilliant support that Kaloor is giving them. The Blasters will really need to pull up their socks to get something out of the game now.
Javi Lara lets fly with his left foot, and Stack looks like he has it covered. It hits Jhingan on the way and arrows into the bottom right corner of Stack's goal. No chance for the goal keeper. The goal came against the run of play, but Lara made his own luck there
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