LaLiga World: Kerala Blasters given footballing lesson by Melbourne City

Melbourne City FC thrashed hosts Kerala Blasters 6-0 in the opening match of the Toyota Yaris LaLiga World pre-season tournament, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. The exhilarating match kept the fans hooked on even though the home team suffered a heavy defeat. It was a brave attempt by the team from Kerala, but they were no match for Melbourne City.

The home side had a nervy start and gave the ball away soon after kick-off. Melbourne City seemed comfortable on the ball and cut through the Blasters defence early on with absurd ease. The Kerala Blasters, however, soon produced a chance of their own. New signing Slavisa Stojanovic raced down the right. But his cross was deflected out for a corner.

Scottish striker Michael O’Halloran was giving Blasters captain Sandesh Jhingan, playing as right-back, a hard time. He produced a decent save from the Blasters’s 18-year-old goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh early on. Dheeraj was put under some pressure early on and a mistake by him went unpunished in the 13th minute. He had got his kick wrong and given the ball away in his own half. But the shot was deflected wide for a corner.

A couple of dangerous moves from the left for the Kerala Blasters were defended well by Melbourne City. And then the home side switched gears. A brilliant attack down the right-wing by Prasanth Karuthadathkuni led to a Kerala Blasters corner. After the corner was initially defended, Kerala kept at it and did put the ball in the net. But the goal was disallowed for a handball by Stojanovic in the build-up. Prasanth was getting into the game more now and playing with purpose.

But, in the 30th minute, and, unbelievably, against the run of play, Melbourne City scored. A lovely lofted ball by Manchester City loanee Luke Bratten was headed home by Dario Vidasic. Kerala Blasters were still reeling from the goal when Melbourne City scored again. Dheeraj was helpless as a shot from just inside the box by Riley McGree, on loan from Belgian team Club Brugge, took a deflection on its way to the goal. The home crowd were now well and truly silenced.

Kerala Blasters kept fighting, but in all fairness, Melbourne City should have scored at least two more goals before the break. It was a combination of determined defending, luck and a brilliant save from Dheeraj off an Anthony Caceres long shot that helped them go into the break trailing by only two goals.

A banner in the crowd read, “Only God can stop us”. By half-time it seemed more a case of “Only God can help us”. And there might have been some divine intervention because the skies which had been clear for all of the first half opened up during half-time. Though the Melbourne City players had said they prefer the heat to heavy rains, they seemed to cope rather well.

Kerala Blasters got a golden chance early on in the second half. Seminlen Doungel was put clear through on goal by a delightful lofted pass by half-time substitute Courage Pekuson. But Doungel wasted the chance with a poor finish. It would prove costly as Melbourne City increased their lead to three soon after. The ball bounce kindly for midfielder Lachlan Wales in the middle of the Blasters box and he tucked it away comfortably.

Prasanth, arguably the best player for the Kerala Blasters on the night, cut in from the right well. But his left-footed shot was straight at the goalkeeper who held it. A fourth for Melbourne City followed soon after. McGree got the ball on the left side of the box and smashed in a low shot past a hapless Dheeraj for his second goal of the night. It was his last touch as he was substituted soon after.

The ‘match’ was turning into more of a footballing lesson for the team from Kerala. But the players showed great desire and character to keep pushing towards the goal of their superior opponents. David James continued to make substitutions and it was a baptism by fire for some of the Indian youngsters such as Suraj Rawat and Mohamad Rakip. Dheeraj made three saves in quick succession to limit the deficit to four.

Kerala Blasters were being outclassed and outmuscled. But their determination was hard to ignore. They got a golden chance in the 73rd minute to pull one back. After some brilliant work by Pekuson, Stojanovic got the ball inside the box. He did well to get his shot away but was unable to beat the goalkeeper. The wasted chance came back to haunt them as Melbourne City got a fifth goal in the 75th minute. A mistake by Jhingan gifted an easy chance to substitute Ramy Najjarine, who made no mistake.

A sixth goal came in the 79th minute. Melbourne City’s Uruguayan striker Bruno Fornaroli was sent through on goal. Jhingan chasing back very nearly managed to get a block on, but was too little too short. Post the 80th minute, the Aussie onslaught was well and truly on. Melbourne City were spraying the ball about effortlessly. And the Kerala Blasters were fighting tooth and nail to get a consolation goal for their fantastic fans. The chances kept coming for the men in sky blue and only the woodwork and Dheeraj prevented them from scoring more.

Captain Jhingan was substituted near the 85^th-minute mark after running himself into the ground. Kerala Blasters kept attacking, treating the match as what it was—a pre-season friendly. But they failed to pull one back.

There were mistakes to worry about in defence and finishing to improve upon. But the Blasters can take heart from some of the counter-attacks and wing-play. And the fact remains that this was Melbourne City FC. And the Kerala Blasters fans can be rest assured that nothing in the ISL, not even India’s best team, Bengaluru FC, will come anywhere near the football show that the Australian team put up for the crowd at Kochi. Instead of being demoralised, the Kerala outfit would do well to learn some valuable lessons from the two top teams here—the other being Girona FC—which will stand them in good stead in ISL 2018-19.

As is the custom in Kochi, the match ended with the fans winning over the away team. The Melbourne City players were first to thank the fans, followed quickly by the home team. It was a 6-0 loss. A tennis score! But you would not have felt that from the atmosphere in the stadium post the match. It was a fantastic, if not competitive, night of football in Kochi.

Melbourne City will now take on Girona FC on July 27 at the same venue. Kerala Blasters will play the La Liga team on July 28.