Jamshedpur FC's 7-match winning streak came to an end when they lost to Kerala Blasters FC by a solitary goal in the first leg of the 2021-22 Hero Indian Super League semi-final at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda on Friday evening..
The win came via a Sahal Abdul Samad goal in the 38th minute. The victory also made Kerala Blasters FC inch closer to a place in the final.
The lead could have been 2-0 for the Tuskers had Adrian Luna's free-kick not cannoned off the woodwork. Kerala's defence was rock-solid too, withstanding the initial threat from Jamshedpur with Marko Leskovic leading from the front.
League Shield winners Jamshedpur looked off-colour upfront with Daniel Chima Chukwu spurning two gilt-edged chances in the first-half and Greg Stewart also missing his usual trickery in the final third.
The second leg, on Thursday (March 15), will be the decider but Kerala will go into the tie with an advantage.
Jamshedpur started on the front foot with Chima missing a golden opportunity to draw first blood early on from close after Pronay Halder headed down a T.P. Rehenesh freekick from deep inside their own half only for the in-form Nigerian to fire a volley wide.
Chima got another chance to atone for his mistake, this time Halder doing well again to win the ball from Puitea and set the Nigerian up but the seasoned striker shot wide after beating his marker. Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for Seiminlen Doungel as he picked up an injury and had to be replaced with birthday boy Mobashir Rahman. Mobashir was in the thick of things almost immediately, finding the near post from a Stewart free-kick that was right off the training ground, outfoxing Kerala men with a cheeky layoff for an unmarked Mobashir to cross from the right flank but he decided to try his luck himself, to no avail in the end.
For Kerala, Leskovic was on top of his game keeping the defence tight and also making some crucial interceptions as Jamshedpur kept attacking with venom before Kerala scored against the run of play.
Alvaro Vazquez once again underlined his class and silken skill to first spot Sahal making a run and then play a delightful ball over the top to him which Ricky Lallawmawma tried to clear but instead made it easier for Sahal to collect the ball and lob it over an advancing Rehenesh.
The second-half got off to a slow start before Adrian Luna's free-kick came off the inside of the post after T.P. Rehenesh got a glove to it just a minute before the hour-mark. At the other end, Ritwik Das -- who scored the winner against ATK Mohun Bagan to help his side win the League Shield -- sent an effort over the bar after Stewart and substitute Jordan Murray combined well in the final third.
With three minutes left on the clock, Ishan Pandita skewed an effort from close wide.
"We didn’t deserve to lose the game. But we did, because of the margins in this game. We were switched off for one instance, and we weren’t clinical when we should have been. Had that been the case, we would be 2-3 goals good. So when you think back to what we’re doing in the first-half and if we do that, it will result in us getting to the final. And that’s what we have to strive to do,” said Jamshedpur head coach Owen Coyle.
The Men of Steel and Kerala Blasters FC will clash in the second leg semi-final on March 15.
