FC Goa was knocked thrice and they managed to recoup once and that was enough for Kerala Blasters to register a comfortable 3-1 win in the 9th edition of ISL at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi on Sunday.
Two first-half goals and a third in the second were enough to take the edge off visitors FC Goa who appeared all at sea for a major part of the 90-minute duel in Kochi after what was an emphatic first home win against Jamshedpur FC.
Both sides started testing each other with FC Goa’s Alvaro Vazquez having the first try at the Kerala citadel but goalkeeper Gill stood the test by diving to his low left.
A Few minutes later FC Goa lost defender Saviour Gama due to injury and Sanson Pereira took his place. The game changed tracks from ends, but with no real goal-scoring thrills.
However, Adrian Luna caught the FC Goa defence by surprise when he tapped in the ball for the first goal after Sahal Samad's try ricocheted towards Luna to tap it in to send the Kerala fans in ruptures.
FC Goa appeared shocked by the goal and a few minutes later helped Kerala Blasters consolidate their position when they gave in a cheap penalty just before half-time.
Luna fed Samad through who fed Dimitrios who in turn was fouled by Anwar Ali and the referee did not hesitate in pointing to the dreaded spot. Dimitrios stepped forward and left FC Goa in two-goal arrears.
Kerala Blasters enhanced their lead six minutes into the second session of play when Ivan Kaliuzhnyi scored a peach of a goal after Dimitrios, on receiving the ball on the right, cut back and lay it off to Ivan who sets himself 30 yards from goal for a beauty.
Down by three and FC Goa let go of their steam and their attack appeared more pronounced with Alvaro missing and later Guarrotxena missing a one on one against rival keeper Gill.
FC Goa broke the ice in the 67th minute when Seriton crossed to Noah Sadaoui who made no error in foxing the rival keeper and reduce the damage.
FC Goa has now slipped to the fourth position and flies back home to host ATK Mohun Bagan on Sunday.