ISL: Milagres Gonsalves breaks Goa, Kerala Blasters seal first win at home

Gonsalves, an academy graduate of Sporting Clube de Goa has played all his career with Vasco-based Salgaocar and it was he who turned villain for the visitors just eight minutes after coming on.Gonsalves arrived unmarked in the box to slot in the easiest of chances that popped out of a wishful cross from fellow substitute Andrew Barisic. The Blasters lived through nervous moments thereafter to secure three precious points.

The home team had dominated the affair, as had they in all their previous matches and goalkeeper-manager David James could only be relieved at the final whistle and he celebrated with arms flung wide.Zico’s Goan side looked sharp occasionally but the return of former Arsenal great Robert Pires did not lift their ailing spirits and they remain anchored to the bottom of the table with just four points. Australian Tolgay Ozbey, the game changer against Delhi, replaced Pires in the dying moments but could not inspire a comeback for Goa.

Kerala created a flurry of chances but frequently erred in the final third. Sabeeth cut a sorry figure while trying to shift to his favoured right foot after robbing Narayan Das with a brilliant intervention. The Kerala boy who has scored a hat-trick at the venue two seasons back for Pailan Arrows against Viva Kerala in the I-League could not find an angle to beat Czech goalkeeper Jan Seda and was dispossessed by the returning right back.

Kerala rued the absence of their top goal scorer Iain Hume and James was forced to start a 4-4-1-1 with Nigerian Penn Orji in the hole. Canada’s Hume was left out of the match day squad and is learnt to have suffered an injury in training. For the hosts, Stephen Pearson was a livewire and the versatility of the Englishman was the highlight.