Sadaoui, Peprah score as Kerala Blasters beat East Bengal 2-1 in ISL

KOCHI: Kerala Blasters secured a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory against East Bengal to get themselves off the mark in their second match of ISL-11 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.
Two stunning goals from Noah Sadaoui (63) and second-half substitute Kwame Peprah (88) helped the home side claw their way back into the match after Vishnu PV had put East Bengal ahead in the 59th minute.
The hosts looked more determined and were eager to attack whenever they got an opportunity. However, they struggled to breach East Bengal’s solid defence. In the ninth minute, Jesus Jimenez and Noah Sadaoui combined well to enter the rival box, with the latter finding Danish Farooq, who cut the ball back to Jesus. The Spanish forward’s curling shot beat goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill but got deflected off the far post.
The visitors had their best chance of the first half in the 44th minute when Zothanpuia delivered a perfect cross from the left, but Diamantakos failed to connect with the ball. Although the ball fell to Madih Talal, the French midfielder couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity, and Sachin Suresh gathered the ball to avert danger.
East Bengal’s decision to introduce Kerala native Vishnu PV in the 57th minute had an immediate impact, as he broke the deadlock within two minutes. Diamantakos carried the ball into the Blasters box and passed it to Vishnu, who made a well-timed run parallel to the former Blasters striker. Vishnu tapped the ball past Sachin Suresh to put East Bengal ahead.
Blasters responded swiftly five minutes later when Naocha Singh found Sadaoui on the left flank. The American forward showcased brilliant footwork to deceive defender Mohammed Rakip and hit a powerful shot between the legs of East Bengal goalkeeper Gill to find the net from a difficult angle and bring the scores level
With just two minutes remaining, second-half substitute Peprah secured the winner for Blasters. Mohammed Aimen, another second-half substitute, capitalised on a defensive error from Anwar Ali in the penalty box and deflected the ball to Peprah. The striker changed the angle of the shot from the edge of the box at the last moment to deceive the rival goalkeeper to score and seal victory for the home side.