Bambolim: New signing Koldo Obieta scored a late winner as Kerala Blasters started its AIFF Super Cup campaign on a high with a 1-0 win over a 10-man Rajasthan United FC at the GMC Stadium here on Thursday.
Up against a higher-division side and outnumbered for most of the second half, Rajasthan frustrated the Blasters for 86 minutes until Obieta’s header tilted the contest in favour of David Catala’s side.
The Blasters, starting without their key forward from last season, Noah Sadaoui, used a predictable trope of long-ball attacks, which ultimately provided the breakthrough.
But Rajasthan’s four-man rearguard made sure that Obieta, who signed for Blasters this summer, was sandwiched between two defenders for the majority of the game.
As a result, KBFC tried to find an opening through set pieces and almost got one in the 22nd minute when Danish Farooq headed Adrian Luna’s corner kick against the outside of the woodwork.
Eight minutes later, from another corner, Muhammed Saheef’s header was cleared by Gursimrat Singh Gill just in front of Rajasthan’s goalline to keep the scores level at half-time.
But after the restart, another Gursimrat intervention proved costly. The defender pulled down Nihal Sudheesh, who was running through on goal after a pass from Obieta.
The referee Aditya Purkayastha deemed the infrigement as a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity and promptly sent him off.
Despite being handicapped, Rajasthan had its moments to clinch the game. Its Colombian striker, Robinson Blandon, tested KBFC’s goalkeeper Nora Fernandes from close proximity, prompting a save in the 50th minute.
Twenty minutes later, Naoba Meitei, who made an overlapping run, delivered a low cross from the right flank, but Blandon failed to get a touch in the centre, which could have given Rajasthan the lead.
And just when Rajathan looked confident of seeing the match out with a point, the combination of Juan Rodriguez and Obieta bore fruit. The central defender marched up the pitch and set up the Spaniard Obieta, who headed the ball past a diving Bhabindra Malla to get his first goal for the club.
He could have doubled the lead in second-half stoppage time when he beat Bhabindra in a one-on-one situation, but the veteran Harmanjot Khabra cleared the ball off the goal-line.
The win took Blasters to second in Group D, with Mumbai City FC - level on points with KBFC - topping the table on goal difference.
Catala’s side plays bottom-placed Sporting Club Delhi next, on November 3 here while Rajasthan locks horns with the Islanders at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium later on the same day. Agencies
Also Read: IOC ends partnership with Saudi committee for Olympic Esports Games