In what turned out to be a repeat of the final of the first edition of the Indian Super League in 2014, Kerala Blasters and Atletico De Kolkata again clashed in the final on Sunday, and this time too ATK walked out as winners after a nervy penalty shootout.
ATK converted four of their penalties to register their second title in three years. It was Jewel Raja who scored the winning goal.
The home side were shaky at the start, but they also scored first, leading to the collective roar of thousands of yellow shirts gathered at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
It was local boy Mahamed Rafi who broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a superb towering header from a corner. Incidentally, the assist came from Bengal’s Mehtab Hossain.
But Kerala’s joy was short lived as Sereno Fonseca scored from a header in a similar fashion to level the score. It was Doutie with the corner.
After an initial spell of misplaced passes, ATK was more patient and began to build periods of sustained possession. Overall the first half was a tough contest, with ATK looking sharper .
The half also saw two substitutions each from the two sides owing to injuries.
Compared to the first half, the second half missed the sparks with both the teams relying on long, diagonal balls to launch their attacks. There was hardly any shots on the target.
With the score remaining level, play went to extra time, that too failed to change the scoreline.
In what turned out to be a repeat of the final of the first edition of the Indian Super League in 2014, Kerala Blasters and Atletico De Kolkata again clashed in the final on Sunday, and this time too ATK walked out as winners after a nervy penalty shootout.
ATK converted four of their penalties to register their second title in three years. It was Jewel Raja who scored the winning goal.
The home side were shaky at the start, but they also scored first, leading to the collective roar of thousands of yellow shirts gathered at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
It was local boy Mahamed Rafi who broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a superb towering header from a corner. Incidentally, the assist came from Bengal’s Mehtab Hossain.
But Kerala’s joy was short lived as Sereno Fonseca scored from a header in a similar fashion to level the score. It was Doutie with the corner.
After an initial spell of misplaced passes, ATK was more patient and began to build periods of sustained possession.
Overall the first half was a tough contest, with ATK looking sharper . The half also saw two substitutions each from the two sides owing to injuries.
Compared to the first half, the second half missed the sparks with both the teams relying on long, diagonal balls to launch their attacks. There was hardly any shots on the target.
With the score remaining level, play went to extra time, that too failed to change the scoreline.