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Chennaiyin were bad at the back but Kerala Blasters were worse…
A teary-eyed TP Rehenesh was apologetic in front of the few Kerala Blasters supporters who were present at the stadium to see the team off after a heavy 6-3 defeat at the hands of Chennaiyin FC.
Bartholomew Ogbeche, who scored the first hat-trick of the Indian Super League (ISL) this season, did not want to come out of the dressing room and walk towards the team bus, with reporters waiting outside. None of the players wanted to speak to the media as they were really upset.
It was a really bad display by Kerala Blasters and once again, one of their worst performances at home.
The attendance figures have dwindled at an alarming rate – there were 9084 present yesterday – and unlike last season, there have been no boycott campaigns. It’s all been about results.
The team has attempted to play possession-based football throughout the season despite their fitness issues. But against Chennaiyin, who came prepared for what Blasters had to offer, the gameplan backfired.
Nerijus Valskis, the league’s top scorer with 12 goals, was in the mood to score and has struck an excellent partnership with the rest of the Machans’ frontline – Lallianzuala Chhangte, Andre Schembri and Rafael Crivellaro hunted the Kerala Blasters defence down successfully.
Both teams showcased their defensive ineptitude but the game was, in the end, won by the less awful defence. Lucian Goian was at fault for two goals that Chennaiyin conceded as the hosts started mounting a comeback and made it 4-3. But it was worse at the other end.
TP Rehenesh, who Eelco Schattorie proudly announced as his first-choice goalkeeper when Bilal Khan looked error-prone in goal at the start of the season, had one of the worst games in his career. After half-an-hour of dominance without penetration, the keeper – who was under no real pressure – played the ball straight to Rafael Crivellaro. The Chennaiyin forward gleefully accepted the gift and started the goal-fest. If the objective was total football, the reality was total chaos.
The pacy Chennaiyin attack punished the new centre-back partnership of Gianni Zuiverloon-Raju Gaikwad twice before the break.
Bartholomew Ogbeche nearly brought Blasters back into the game but the leakage was too big to control. Gaikwad’s bad backpass was cut off by Chhangte to score Chennaiyin’s fourth. And there were two more goals that completed the demolition and the defending on both occasions was comical.
Mohammad Rakip was once again caught out on far too many occasions and Jessel Carneiro’s output was half-baked and both full-backs struggled to contain the attacks from the flanks. There was an intent to not only play out from the back but also get crosses into the box. While they have certainly crossed (albeit without threat most of the times), Chennaiyin effectively forced errors out of the defence that lacked composure.
The mathematical equations can bid goodbye now, Kerala Blasters have to play better at home. Can this set of players actually pull off possession-based football? This is something Schattorie has to answer.
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