Kerala Blasters faced off against Hyderabad FC away from home in a game with mostly nothing to write home about, but anyway, since you’re here let’s take a look at the game’s moments of exhilaration.
The Blasters made a single change to the 11 that started in their last game victory against Mumbai with Danish Farooq back in the starting lineup in place of Ishan Pandita. Hyderabad on the other hand made 5 changes to their previous starting lineup replacing Chhunga Hmar, Joseph Sunny, Edmilson Correia, Isaac Vanmalsawma, and Mohammed Rafi with Sourav K., Abijith PA, Cy Goddard, Ayush Adhikari and Abdul Rabeeh.
The Blasters got the first chance of the game in the 4th minute when a smart cross into the box by Korou was met by an onrushing Aimen, but he failed to keep his shot on target as the ball sailed above the crossbar.
The Blasters would soon break the deadlock in the 6th minute of the game via Dusan Lagator who found the back of the net with a close-range header. Aimen got the assist for the goal as it was, he who floated the ball into the second post to keep it in play, which was headed in by the unmarked Montenegrin. The goal also marked Dusan’s first goal, for Kerala Blasters as well as in ISL.
The Blasters would soon have a chance to double their lead in the 10th minute when Aimen’s cutback found Korou with ease, but the young sensation failed to convert as he failed to time his shot.
Hyderabad was resilient and refused to give up as they went on to attack continuously in the upcoming minutes but mostly with no result. Sapic tried to utilize a confusion in the Blasters’ box in the 16th minute, but he failed to get a touch on the loose ball which was then taken away by the Blasters’ defense. Alex Saji had a close header attempt in the 18th minute, but he also missed the target.
In the 28th minute of the game, captain Adrian Luna followed through on a hospital pass by Alba to Arshdeep and was seemingly brought down by the HFC goalie as the ball passed between the legs of Arshdeep and was handled by the HFC defense, but the referee wasn’t interested and the Uruguayan’s calls for a penalty wasn’t heard.
The Blasters had 2 chances to double their lead in a span of two minutes between 36′ and 38′ both via Korou but the young lad failed to score in both scenarios. HFC’s Manoj Mohammed got himself booked in the 37th minute for a challenge on Luna. The Blasters had another go at the goal in the 43rd minute when after a brilliant solo run Aimen put a through ball onto the path of captain Adrian Luna but the Uruguayan’s shot was saved by the Nawabs’ custodian.
Things would go wrong for the Blasters in the very next minute as a poor clearance error by Aiban on a Rabeeh cross would lead to one of ‘The Goal of the Season’ contenders as the ball pitched upwards perfectly enough for Hyderabad’s Malayali winger, Saurav to pull out an excellent acrobatic effort, giving no chance to Nora in goal who could only watch the ball as it shook the net providing Hyderabad the equalizer.
Hyderabad came close to getting their second goal of the night via Andrei Alba but the Brazilian’s astounding long-range strike was saved by the fingertips of a flying Nora Fernandes in goal. The referee blew for half-time with both sides having a goal each and sharing a point apiece. 1-1 at the break.
The Blasters made two changes before the second half began replacing Aimen and Peprah with Amawia and Noah. Noah shook the HFC defense with his first two touches as he launched a rocket towards the first post but was saved by Arshdeep in goal.
The visitors would face a predicament in the 49th minute when the referee gave a penalty to the home side for a 50-50 scenario involving Abijith and Lagator, with both Lagator and Luna getting themselves booked for questioning the referee’s decision. Andrei Alba stepped up to take the kick for the home side but his weak effort was saved brilliantly by Nora in goal, denying Hyderabad the lead.
Vibin got himself booked in the 58th minute for a rough challenge on his former teammate Ayush. Hyderabad made two changes in the 60th minute of the game, replacing Abijith and Saurav with Isaac and Devendra. Cy Goddard got himself booked in the 62nd minute for a potentially dangerous challenge on Amawia.
The Blasters had another major chance in the 67th minute of the game when Korou put in a beautiful cross into the box but Luna’s attempt went wide by a small margin. The skipper couldn’t believe himself as he fell to the ground in disappointment for wasting the chance. The Nawabs’ substitute Devendra unleashed a long-range effort in the 72nd minute but was saved brilliantly and collected carefully by Nora in goal.
Allan got himself booked in the 73rd minute for an unwanted foul. Hyderabad made a change at the same time bringing in Correia in place of Cy. The Blasters also followed suit bringing in Bikash in place of Aiban.
Blasters came close to scoring again in the 82nd minute of the game via a magical freekick by skipper Adrian Luna but his effort was tipped over the bar by Arshdeep. The Blasters’ stroke of bad luck wasn’t over yet as minutes later a header attempt by Danish Farooq was also stopped but by the crossbar this time around. Danish was soon subbed off in the 87th minute for Freddy.
There were some heated moments in the stoppage time as a clash broke out between the players of both sides in the 90+3′ mark of the game but was subdued soon by the referee. Isaac of HFC got booked in the minute after. The referee blew for full-time soon later as the game ended in a 1-1 draw with both teams sharing the spoils.
The game marked the last league-stage game of ISL ’24-25 season and this game like the whole season was disappointing for both sides, especially for the visitors who are now in the midst of a civil war between the management and the fans as the fanbase and some pundits consider this season to be one of the if not the worst season in the club’s history.
This game could’ve also been the last game for Hyderabad FC in Hyderabad, as reports have emerged stating that their current owners, JSW group wish to change the club’s base of operations to Delhi. The game could’ve also been the last ISL game in the Blasters’ jersey for many of their players as the club is reported to undergo a major rebuild with many surprises exits and incomings.
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