Disastrous defending hands Kerala Blasters a deserving defeat

It is difficult to win games without a good defence. Period. 

Kerala Blasters‘ performance in their 3-1 defeat to Chennaiyin was a perfect example of lacklustre defending and non-existent organization in defence and midfield. There were controversial decisions and a few well-taken goals but Blasters have only themselves to blame for the loss. It was a horror show at the back that allowed Chennaiyin to pick up their first win under new head coach Owen Coyle and only their second win of the season.

With Sandesh Jhingan and Jairo Rodrigues ruled out for the season and Gianni Zuiverloon nursing an injury, Eelco Schattorie has had to field Raju Gaikwad and Macedonian Vlatko Drobarov as his centre-backs. Their partnership has failed to blossom and there has been an evident lack of leadership in the side. 

There were multiple periods of play against Chennaiyin when the defence went to sleep and was caught unawares. Vlatko Drobarov, in particular, failed to keep track of his runners and hold the defensive line, leaving plenty of space for the opposition’s forwards to run into. And when the opposition’s attack is pacy and features of one of the fastest wingers in India in Lallianzuala Chhangte, it was only a matter of when and not if Blasters would concede. 

Forget injuries, Blasters were also tactically defunct. They played a high line against a pacy attack that features Chhangte. It was so easy for Chhangte to find spaces in behind the Kerala defence. He continued to do so through the entirety of the game as Blasters failed to learn from their mistake. One has to question whose decision it was to play such a high line.

Young Mohammed Rakip, who has done reasonably well to get regular first-team minutes, ran around like a headless chicken trying to deal with the pace and directness of Chhangte. On the other flank, Jessel Carneiro was also sub-par and failed to work in tandem with the rest of his defence when Chennaiyin pushed forward in numbers. 

The refereeing mess in the 25th minute, wherein Chennaiyin scored from a wrongly awarded free-kick before it was overturned following vociferous appeals by the players and the coaching staff, seemed to have unsettle the entire team. Soon after the goal was disallowed, the unfocused defence allowed Chhangte to ghost into the box and score. 

Sometimes when the defending is bad, it is the goalkeeper who comes to the rescue of the team. But TP Rehenesh struggled to take control of his area and can count himself extremely lucky to have been able to finish the game. The custodian rushed off his line and brought down Chhangte in a one-on-one before he was lobbed for the third goal, one that Nerijus Valksis converted after the ball initially hit the post. Rehenesh was the last man and deserved to be sent off. 

Mario Arques’ return was a boost in terms of creativity in the midfield but it is bemusing to see Sahal Abdul Samad’s lack of involvement. Eelco Schattorie may have his reasons but when the team continues to drop points – Blasters are winless in eight games now – having one of your most creative players on the bench doesn’t make sense. When he did come on during a second-half that was devoid of clear-cut chances for the Yellow Army, he was pushed out to the left flank.

Bartholomew Ogbeche had scored a fantastic goal to pull his team level after the sleepy defence conceded as early as the fourth minute. But for every goal he scores, there is always a goal that opponents can hope of scoring when playing against this defence in the current scenario.