This weekend was quite an eventful one for the league as it gave us a contender for worst game of the season and definitely gave us a top contender for game of the season. In this, I will bring you a short roundup of the results and leave the big report to Jake, as he does enjoy a rant.
Bengaluru 2-1 NorthEast United
Friday night didn’t bring another upset for NorthEast as they fell to a 2-1 loss to Bengaluru. Juanan opened the scoring with fourteen minutes as he stuck away a pass from Edu Garcia. Avram Grant’s NorthEast was not being the pushovers many expected them to be, and caused an issue for the Bengaluru defence, winning themselves a penalty on the stroke of half-time. Marcinho stepped up and stroked it home to equalise. 1-1 at half-time.
There were seven minutes added on at the end of the first half as during the first half, the floodlights suddenly went out and the play was stopped. Jake says he was in the know and it was the fact that Bengaluru hadn’t paid the electricity bill or it was Teddy Sheringham haunting the league after the controversial week he has had. Come on Jake, let it go!
The second half started and Grant’s side was not out of this tie at all. They were pushing for a second when Bengaluru struck again. This time through ever reliant Sunil Chhetri, who coincidentally was my pick for key player in my preview for this game. Bengaluru held on throughout the second half and won the game 2-1.
Quick stat attack for you, surprisingly, NorthEast enjoyed the majority of the possession with 58%, and they dominated the shots statistic as well, having fourteen compared to Bengaluru’s twelve.
Kerala Blasters 2-1 Delhi Dynamos
Saturday night gave us a game that either side needed to win. The game itself didn’t disappoint, unlike their previous meeting, and within thirty-five minutes Kalu Uche carried on his goal scoring form and put Delhi 1-0 up. That was pretty much it from the first half, the game was open but both teams were struggling to make good chances.
The second half started and hero Uche carried on his goal scoring form, however, it was in the wrong net. He just wants to score goals, why penalise him? 1-1 and James’ team were back in it. Then Delhi’s lack of quality showed and they gave away a cheap penalty, within seventy-five minutes. Ever reliant Iain Hume, and my key player for the game in my preview before the game, stepped up and coolly put the penalty away. 2-1, and that’s how the game ended, with Kerala beating bottom of the league.
Quick stat attack once again. Delhi dominated possession, having 58% over the ninety minutes. Delhi also dominated the shots statistic, accumulating a total of fourteen compared to Kerala’s eight. Kerala proving, they can be clinical when they want.
FC Goa 3-4 Mumbai City
The first of two games on Sunday and we were given one hell, of a game. I’ll try and keep this as short and sweet as I can.
Goa took the lead on thirty-four minutes through Ferran Corominas. Mumbai replied back instantly, as on thirty-six minutes Thiago Santos scored to make it 1-1. Lanzarote made it 2-1 to Goa on the stroke of halftime.
The second half was just as eventful. Benny Fernandes received his second yellow card on forty-eight minutes, leaving Goa on ten men. Mumbai was awarded a penalty on fifty-four minutes and Achille Emana slotted it away to make it 2-2. Mumbai took the lead for the first time on seventy minutes as Thiago Santos scored his second of the game, leaving Mumbai 3-2 up. Goa equalised on seventy-eight minutes through Ferran Corominas scoring his second goal. Then late drama arrived, Balwant Singh, on eighty-six minutes, scored the winner to make the scoreline a massive 3-4 and producing the game of the season so far.
Quick stat attack once again. Goa enjoyed 60% possession against their opponents. However, the shots stats were evenly contested with Goa having eighteen shots and Mumbai having nineteen shots, with both teams having seven shots on target.
ATK 0-1 Jamshedpur
The second game on Sunday was pretty lacklustre compared the game prior to it. The first half was pretty boring, with both teams not really producing good enough chances. The second half started and it looked like the game wouldn’t change at all. That was until the sixty-sixth minute when Jamshedpur was awarded a penalty and Trindade stepped up to take it. He smashed it into the net and it was 0-1 to the visitors, who deserved the lead they had took.
The game ended 1-0, and even after the goal ATK never really looked bothered about losing the game. The game won’t be one that sticks in the memory of spectators for long that’s for sure.
Something To Note…
Once again, I am going to bring some interesting facts and stats to your attention. Shockingly, there was a penalty awarded in all four of the weekend games, something that has surely never happened before in the history of the league.
Another thing to point out is the fact that every team, this weekend, who enjoyed the majority of the possession, lost the game. This proves that the league prefers teams who can take the pressure and take their chances, rather than bossing the play but not take their chances. I am sure every manager from the league are reading this and the first thing they do in training are shooting drills. You’re welcome lads, I’ll be awaiting the interview inquiries!
