2014 Kerala Blasters FC season

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Kerala Blasters FC
2014 season
General ManagerPrasanth Agarwal
Head CoachDavid James
StadiumJawaharlal Nehru Stadium
ISL4th
ISL PlayoffsRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague: Iain Hume (4)
All: Iain Hume (5)
Highest home attendance61,323 vs. Chennaiyin
(30 November)
Lowest home attendance34,657 vs. Delhi Dynamos
(9 November)
Average home league attendance49,111[1]
2015 →

The 2014 season was the first ever season in Kerala Blasters Football Club's existence after its establishment in May 2014, as well as their first season in the inaugural season of Indian Super League. The club managed to secure qualification for the Indian Super League finals on 9 December 2014, after finishing the regular season in fourth position. They managed to make it to the final, but were defeated by Atlético de Kolkata through a stoppage time goal.

The Blasters signed the former England international, David James, as their first ever coach in August. They also drafted in India internationals such as Mehtab Hossain, Sandip Nandy, Chinadorai Sabeeth, Renedy Singh, Ishfaq Ahmed, and Nirmal Chettri. The Blasters also selected an international foreign player, Canadian international Iain Hume before signing on former Scottish internationals Jamie McAllister and Stephen Pearson outside the draft.

After starting the season with five straight away games, the Blasters found themselves with only four points. Once the team started playing home games they gained 11 points from the next five games. Another 4 points from their final four games were enough for the team to qualify for the finals. The finals started off very well for Kerala Blasters as they defeated Chennaiyin 3–0 away from home in the first leg of the semi-finals. Despite giving up that lead in the second-leg, an extra-time goal from Stephen Pearson ensured that the Blasters qualified for the final. In the final, the club were defeated 1–0 by Atlético de Kolkata through a last-minute strike by Mohammed Rafique.

Background[]

Main article: Indian Super League

In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG–Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of the nine selected cities for the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), a franchise tournament modelled along the lines of the Indian Premier League for cricket.[2] On 13 April 2014 it was announced that the rights to the Kerala franchise were won by former India cricket captain, Sachin Tendulkar, and serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and educationalist, Prasad V Potluri.[3] Then, on 27 May 2014, the team's official name was unveiled as 'Kerala Blasters FC' which is based on the nickname of co-owner Sachin Tendular, 'Master Blaster'.

Selection of the players for the first season started on 22 July when the Blasters, along with the other seven franchises, took part in the domestic draft to select the first fourteen Indian players in each team.[4] India international Mehtab Hossain was the first draft pick made by Kerala Blasters and thus the first player in Kerala Blasters history.[5] At the end of the draft, the Blasters were composed of fourteen players, including Hossain: Avinabo Bag, Sandip Nandy, Chinadorai Sabeeth, Luis Barreto, Milagres Gonsalves, Ramandeep Singh, Renedy Singh, Ishfaq Ahmed, Gurwinder Singh, Nirmal Chettri, Sushanth Mathew, and Godwin Franco.[6]

On 13 August 2014, former England international goalkeeper, David James was announced as the first head coach of the club and the first marquee player in team history, thus coming in as a player-head coach.[7] Then, on 21 August 2014, the team participated in the international draft in which each team selected seven foreign players to join their team.[8] Former Newcastle United forward Michael Chopra was the first foreign player drafted by the Blasters.[9]

Signings[]

Other signings[]

No. Position Player Last club Date Ref
70 GK England David James Iceland ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar 13 August 2014 [10]
3 DF Scotland Jamie McAllister England Yeovil Town 23 August 2014 [11]
18 MF Nigeria Penn Orji India Mohammedan 1 September 2014 [12]
27 FW Australia Andrew Barisic Hong Kong South China 1 September 2014 [12]
25 MF Scotland Stephen Pearson England Bristol City 1 September 2014 [13]
32 DF Republic of Ireland Colin Falvey United States Charleston Battery 4 September 2014 [14]
29 DF India Saumik Dey India East Bengal 7 September 2014 [15]
13 MF India Duleep Menon India Central Excise 27 September 2014 [16]

Pre-season[]

18 September 2014 (2014-09-18) Friendly Kerala Blasters 5–1 Kerala Police FC Thrissur
Sabeeth (2 goals)
Chopra (2 goals)		 Report Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium
24 September 2014 (2014-09-24) Friendly Kerala Blasters 6–0 Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur
Report Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium
25 September 2014 (2014-09-25) Friendly Kerala Blasters 5–0 Central Excise Thrissur
Report Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium
27 September 2014 (2014-09-27) Friendly Kerala Blasters 1–0 Mohammedan Thrissur
Report Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium
3 October 2014 (2014-10-03) Friendly Vasco 0–4 Kerala Blasters Goa
Report
5 October 2014 (2014-10-05) Friendly Cavelossim 1–4 Kerala Blasters Goa
Report
7 October 2014 (2014-10-07) Friendly Churchill Brothers 0–1 Kerala Blasters Goa
Report
9 October 2014 (2014-10-09) Friendly Salgaocar 1–2 Kerala Blasters Goa
Report

Indian Super League[]

Main article: 2014 Indian Super League season

Kerala Blasters began their first ever season away from home against NorthEast United on 13 October. A goal from Koke lead to the Blasters losing that match 1–0 to open the season.[17] Their second match was no better as the Blasters lost their second match of the season to Chennaiyin 2–1. Despite Canadian international Iain Hume scoring the first goal in Blasters history, Chennaiyin managed to grab the victory through goals from Elano and Bernard Mendy.[18] The winless streak continued for Kerala Blasters as they headed into their third match against Atlético de Kolkata. An equalizer from Iain Hume meant that the Blasters managed to draw the match 1–1 and thus earn their first ever point.[19] The draw helped propel the momentum for the Blasters as they ended their first month of competitive football with their first ever victory against Pune City. The Blasters fell behind in the match early through a David Trezeguet goal in the 15th minute but Chinadorai Sabeeth managed to level the score in the 41st minute, becoming the first Indian player to score for the team ever. It was then Penn Orji who scored the winning goal in the 65th minute as Kerala Blasters won 2–1.[20]

The team then began what would be a long month of November for the team as they would have to play eight matches. Their first match came on 2 November against Mumbai City in Mumbai. The Blasters fell in the match 1–0 after Nicolas Anelka scored for Mumbai City from a free-kick.[21] The team then returned to Kerala to play their first home game of the season of a three-game home stand against FC Goa on 6 November. After a goalless first half, it was Milagres Gonsalves who came up with the winning goal for Kerala Blasters in the 64th minute as the Blasters won 1–0.[22] Despite the opening home victory, the Blasters were unable to do more than achieve 0–0 in their next two matches against the Delhi Dynamos and Mumbai City respectively.[23][24]

After their three-match home stand, Kerala Blasters returned to the road as the took on the Delhi Dynamos in Delhi. A 61st-minute goal from Penn Orji was enough as the Blasters won the away tie 1–0.[25] Five days later, the Blasters returned home to take on Atlético de Kolkata. Early goals from Iain Hume and Pedro Gusmão helped lead the Blasters to a 2–1 victory of the Kolkata side.[26] The joy from the victory was short-lived though as Kerala Blasters ended the month losing two matches in a row. Their first defeat occurred away from home to FC Goa on 26 November. A brace from Miroslav Slepička and another goal from André Santos lead to the Blasters losing 3–0.[27] That defeat was followed with a 1–0 defeat at home to Chennaiyin.[28]

With just two matches left before the finals entering December, Kerala Blasters knew the two matches would be crucial for their season.[29] Their first match occurred on 4 December against NorthEast United. Despite creating many chances upfront, the Blasters were held to a 0–0 result.[30] That result meant that the final match of the regular season, at home to Pune City, would prove to be the decider between the two sides to see who qualifies for the finals.[31] Due to a free-kick goal from Iain Hume and a fantastic performance from Sandip Nandy in goal, the Blasters came out victorious 1–0 and thus qualified for the finals.[32]

13 October 2014 (2014-10-13) 1 NorthEast United 1–0 Kerala Blasters Guwahati
19:00 IST Koke 45' Report Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 29,500
Referee: Pratap Singh
21 October 2014 (2014-10-21) 2 Chennaiyin 2–1 Kerala Blasters Chennai
19:00 IST Elano 14' (pen)
Mendy 63'		 Report Hume 50' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 19,430
Referee: Rahul Dsa
26 October 2014 (2014-10-26) 3 Atlético de Kolkata 1–1 Kerala Blasters Kolkata
16:30 IST Sahni 22' Report Hume 41' Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Arumughan Rowan
30 October 2014 (2014-10-30) 4 Pune City 1–2 Kerala Blasters Pune
19:00 IST Trezeguet 15' Report Sabeeth 41'
Orji 65'		 Stadium: Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex
Attendance: 8,227
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar
2 November 2014 (2014-11-02) 5 Mumbai City 1–0 Kerala Blasters Mumbai
19:00 IST Anelka 45' Report Stadium: DY Patil Stadium
Attendance: 20,439
Referee: Jarred Gillett
6 November 2014 (2014-11-06) 6 Kerala Blasters 1–0 Goa Kochi
19:00 IST Gonsalves 64' Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 49,517
Referee: Jarred Gillet
9 November 2014 (2014-11-09) 7 Kerala Blasters 0–0 Delhi Dynamos Kochi
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 34,657
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
12 November 2014 (2014-11-12) 8 Kerala Blasters 0–0 Mumbai City Kochi
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 41,362
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
16 November 2014 (2014-11-16) 9 Delhi Dynamos 0–1 Kerala Blasters Delhi
19:00 IST Report Orji 61' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 17,853
Referee: Jarred Gillet
21 November 2014 (2014-11-21) 10 Kerala Blasters 2–1 Atlético de Kolkata Kochi
19:00 IST Hume 4'
Gusmão 42'		 Report Teferra 55' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 57,296
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov
26 November 2014 (2014-11-26) 11 FC Goa 3–0 Kerala Blasters Margao
19:00 IST Slepička 63', 79'
Santos 69'		 Report Stadium: Fatorda Stadium
Attendance: 19,752
Referee: Ranjit Bakshi
30 November 2014 (2014-11-30) 12 Kerala Blasters 0–1 Chennaiyin Kochi
19:00 IST Report Pelissari Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 61,323
Referee: Magho Singh
4 December 2014 (2014-12-04) 13 Kerala Blasters 0–0 NorthEast United Kochi
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 43,299
Referee: Anthony Simoes
9 December 2014 (2014-12-09) 14 Kerala Blasters 1–0 Pune City Kochi
19:00 IST Hume 23' Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 44,532
Referee: Samchista Doss

Table[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
2 Goa 14 6 4 4 21 12 +9 22 2014 Indian Super League Semi-finals
3 Atlético de Kolkata 14 4 7 3 16 13 +3 19
4 Kerala Blasters 14 5 4 5 9 11 −2 19
5 Delhi Dynamos 14 4 6 4 16 14 +2 18
6 Pune City 14 4 4 6 12 17 −5 16
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match

Results summary[]

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
14 5 4 5 9 11  −2 19 3 3 1 4 2  +2 2 1 4 5 9  −4

Indian Super League finals[]

Main article: 2014 Indian Super League finals

Final[]

The Kerala Blasters entered the finals as the fourth seed from the regular season and thus had to face the first seed, Chennaiyin in the semi-finals.[33] The first leg of the semi-final turned out to be the Blasters' best offensive performance of the season as they came away with the 3–0 advantage. Ishfaq Ahmed scored the first goal for Kerala in the 27th minute before Iain Hume doubled the lead in the 29th minute. The match was set to finish 2–0 before Sushanth Mathew fired home the third goal for the Kerala Blasters.[34] Despite having the advantage, the Blasters found themselves giving it away in Chennai. Strikes from Mikaël Silvestre and Jeje Lalpekhlua, as well as an own goal from Sandesh Jhingan saw the match end 3–0 to Chennaiyin and thus require extra-time to decide the tie. The match looked set to be going to penalties but it was Stephen Pearson who broke the deadlock in the 117th minute and send the Kerala Blasters into the final.[35]

13 December 2014 (2014-12-13) Leg 1 Kerala Blasters 3–0 Chennaiyin Kochi
19:00 IST Ahmed 27'
Hume 29'
Mathew 90+4'		 Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 60,900
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
16 December 2014 (2014-12-16) Leg 2 Chennaiyin 3–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–4 agg.)		 Kerala Blasters Chennai
19:00 IST Silvestre 42'
Jhingan (o.g.)
Lalpekhlua 90'		 Report Pearson 117' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 25,327
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar

Final[]

Main article: 2014 Indian Super League Final

The final of the Indian Super League took place at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai against Atlético de Kolkata. The match remained at 0–0 until the very final minute of second stoppage time when Mohammed Rafique scored for Kolkata and thus take the title away from the Kerala Blasters.[36]

20 December 2014 (2014-12-20) Final Kerala Blasters 0–1 Atlético de Kolkata Mumbai
18:00 IST Report Rafique 90+5' Stadium: DY Patil Stadium
Attendance: 36,484
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov

Player statistics[]

Season stats
# Position Player GP G
2 DF France Cédric Hengbart 13 0
3 DF Scotland Jamie McAllister 6 0
4 DF India Ramandeep Singh 0 0
5 DF India Nirmal Chettri 12 0
6 MF India Renedy Singh 2 0
7 MF India Sushanth Mathew 5 1
8 FW England Michael Chopra 9 0
9 FW Brazil Pedro Gusmão 7 1
10 FW Canada Iain Hume 16 5
11 MF India Ishfaq Ahmed 9 1
12 FW India Chinadorai Sabeeth 8 1
13 MF India Duleep Menon 0 0
14 MF India Mehtab Hossain 9 0
15 DF India Sandesh Jhingan 14 0
16 DF India Gurwinder Singh 11 0
18 MF Nigeria Penn Orji 13 2
21 MF India Godwin Franco 4 0
22 DF France Raphaël Romey 8 0
23 DF India Avinabo Bag 5 0
24 GK India Sandip Nandy 6 0
25 MF Scotland Stephen Pearson 17 1
27 FW Australia Andrew Barisic 11 0
29 DF India Saumik Dey 10 0
30 GK India Luis Barreto 1 0
32 DF Republic of Ireland Colin Falvey 9 0
44 DF Brazil Erwin Spitzner 0 0
70 GK England David James 12 0
85 MF Spain Pulga 6 0
88 FW India Milagres Gonsalves 13 1

See also[]

References[]

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