Kerala Blasters FC – 2 (Aimen 25’, Aritra 45+3’) Army Green FT – 0
Guwahati, Wednesday, August 31, 2022:
The Kerala Blasters (KBFC) have qualified for the
quarter finals of the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup. They defeated the Army Green Football Team
(AGFT) 2 – 0 in a Group D match at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati to earn
themselves the prized spot. Muhammed Aimen and Aritra Das scored for the winners who were
dominant throughout the game.
All 47 games of the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup are being telecast LIVE on Sports18 1 SD & HD
and Sports18 Khel as well as livestreamed on the Over the Top (OTT) platform VOOT!
Attacking Football in the First Half
The game had a great flow from the beginning from both sides. The teams played some attacking
football in each other’s box. KBFC started to control the midfield with Vibin Mohanan and Muhammed
Azhar, who have been consistently good in the tournament, calling the shots. They found the attacking
foursome of Ajsal, Gaurav, Aimen and Roshan from time to time and were creating pressure on the
Army defence.
The first goal came from such a move involving Roshan, Ajsal and Aimen. Roshan carried the ball from
the right and found Ajsal in the middle who found Aimen on the left wing. Muhammed Aimen
unleashed an exquisite right footed curler into the top left corner to give the Blasters the lead.
The youngsters of KBFC have made a habit of scoring wonderful goals all throughout the tournament
and the second goal was one such. In stoppage time, Aritra Das carried the ball down the left wing,
entered the box and struck a bullet of a shot into the top corner. Army keeper Rolua Puia was left
stunned.
Army Green was good in patches with PC Lallawmkima making some good runs inside the box. The
best chance for them came from a counter attack which was wasted by Gautam Singh from a pass by
Chabin Rabha.
Kerala Continue to dominate
AGFT began the second half with more intent and pressed high with fresh legs having been introduced
by gaffer Robichandra Singh. They dispossessed Blasters often but could not create any genuine goal
scoring chances. The ones they did were either wasted or defended with ease by the Blasters defence.
Tejas Krishna and Marwan Hussain along with Goalkeeper Sachin Suresh ensured that the Army men
were kept under control.
On the other end, Kerala was attacking with intent as well and creating opportunities. The attackers
were combining well to create more pressure for the Army defence. Aimen had a chance to become the
joint top scorer of the tournament but his header hit the post.
The Blasters qualified for the knockouts with seven points while AGFT has one game remaining against
table toppers Odisha FC, which will be played on September 04, 2022.
