2014 Kerala Blasters FC season

The 2014 season was the first ever season of competitive football played by the Kerala Blasters. The team managed to secure qualification for the Indian Super League finals on 9 December 2014, after finishing the regular season in fourth position. They managed to make it to the final, but were defeated by Atlético de Kolkata through a stoppage time goal.

Kerala Blasters

2014 season
General Manager	Prasanth Agarwal
Head Coach	David James
Stadium	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
ISL	4th
Finals	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Iain Hume (4) All: Iain Hume (5)
Highest home attendance	61,323 vs. Chennaiyin (30 November)
Lowest home attendance	34,657 vs. Delhi Dynamos (9 November)
Average home league attendance	49,111[1]
Home colours Away colours

The Kerala Blasters signed on former England international, David James, as their first ever coach in August. The team also drafted in India internationals such as Mehtab Hossain, Sandip Nandy, Chinadorai Sabeeth, Renedy Singh, Ishfaq Ahmed, and Nirmal Chettri. The Kerala Blasters also selected an international foreign player, Canadian international Iain Hume before signing on former Scottish internationals Jamie McAllister and Stephen Pearson outside the draft.

After starting the season with five straight away games, the Blasters found themselves with only four points. Once the team started playing home games they gained 11 points from the next five games. Another 4 points from their final four games were enough for the team to qualify for the finals. The finals started off very well for the Kerala Blasters as they defeated Chennaiyin 3–0 away from home in the first leg of the semi-finals. Despite giving up that lead in the second-leg, an extra-time goal from Stephen Pearson ensured that the Kerala Blasters qualified for the final. In the final, the club were defeated 1–0 by Atlético de Kolkata through a last-minute strike by Mohammed Rafique.

Background

In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG–Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of the nine selected cities for the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), a franchise tournament modelled along the lines of the Indian Premier League for cricket.[2] On 13 April 2014 it was announced that the rights to the Kerala franchise were won by former India cricket captain, Sachin Tendulkar, and serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and educationalist, Prasad V Potluri.[3] Then, on 27 May 2014, the team's official name was unveiled as the 'Kerala Blasters FC' which is based on the nickname of co-owner Sachin Tendular, the master blaster.

Construction of the team for the first season started on 22 July when the Kerala Blasters, along with the other seven franchises, took part in the domestic draft to select the first fourteen Indian players in each team.[4] India international Mehtab Hossain was the first draft pick made by Kerala Blasters and thus the first player in Kerala Blasters history.[5] At the end of the draft, the Blasters were composed of fourteen players, including Hossain: Avinabo Bag, Sandip Nandy, Chinadorai Sabeeth, Luis Barreto, Milagres Gonsalves, Ramandeep Singh, Renedy Singh, Shazin Sadhik, Ishfaq Ahmed, Gurwinder Singh, Nirmal Chettri, Sushanth Mathew, and Godwin Franco.[6]

On 13 August 2014, former England international goalkeeper, David James, was announced as the first head coach of the Kerala Blasters and the first marquee player in team history, thus coming in as a player-head coach.[7] Then, on 21 August 2014, the team participated in the international draft in which each team selected seven foreign players to join their team.[8] Former Newcastle United forward Michael Chopra was the first foreign player drafted by the Kerala Blasters.[9]

Signings

Indian draft Round Position Player I-League club 1 MF Mehtab Hossain East Bengal 2 DF Sandesh Jhingan Mumbai FC 3 MF Ishfaq Ahmed Mohammedan 4 DF Gurwinder Singh East Bengal 5 DF Nirmal Chettri Mohammedan 6 MF Sushanth Mathew Rangdajied United 7 MF Godwin Franco Dempo 8 DF Avinabo Bag Pailan Arrows 9 GK Sandip Nandy Mohun Bagan 10 FW Chinadorai Sabeeth Mohun Bagan 11 GK Luis Barreto East Bengal 12 FW Milagres Gonsalves Salgaocar 13 DF Ramandeep Singh Air India 14 MF Renedy Singh Shillong Lajong

International draft Round Position Player Last Club 1 FW Michael Chopra Blackpool 2 FW Iain Hume Fleetwood Town 3 MF Pulga Kallithea 4 DF Erwin Spitzner Atlético Paranaense 5 FW Pedro Gusmão Atlético Paranaense 6 DF Cedric Hengbart Ajaccio 7 DF Raphaël Romey Bastia

Other signings

No.	Position	Player	Last club	Date	Ref
70	GK	David James	ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar	13 August 2014	[10]
3	DF	Jamie McAllister	Yeovil Town	23 August 2014	[11]
18	MF	Penn Orji	Mohammedan	1 September 2014	[12]
27	FW	Andrew Barisic	South China	1 September 2014	[12]
25	MF	Stephen Pearson	Bristol City	1 September 2014	[13]
32	DF	Colin Falvey	Charleston Battery	4 September 2014	[14]
29	DF	Saumik Dey	East Bengal	7 September 2014	[15]
13	MF	Duleep Menon	Central Excise	27 September 2014	[16]

Pre-season

18 September 2014 Friendly	Kerala Blasters	5–1	Kerala Police FC	Thrissur
	Sabeeth (2 goals) Chopra (2 goals)	Report		Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium

24 September 2014 Friendly	Kerala Blasters	6–0	Sree Kerala Varma College	Thrissur
		Report		Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium

25 September 2014 Friendly	Kerala Blasters	5–0	Central Excise	Thrissur
		Report		Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium

27 September 2014 Friendly	Kerala Blasters	1–0	Mohammedan	Thrissur
		Report		Stadium: Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium

3 October 2014 Friendly	Vasco	0–4	Kerala Blasters	Goa
		Report

5 October 2014 Friendly	Cavelossim	1–4	Kerala Blasters	Goa
		Report

7 October 2014 Friendly	Churchill Brothers	0–1	Kerala Blasters	Goa
		Report

9 October 2014 Friendly	Salgaocar	1–2	Kerala Blasters	Goa
		Report

Indian Super League

The Kerala Blasters began their first ever season away from home against NorthEast United on 13 October. A goal from Koke lead to the Blasters losing that match 1–0 to open the season.[17] Their second match was no better as the Kerala Blasters lost their second match of the season to Chennaiyin 2–1. Despite Canadian international Iain Hume scoring the first goal in Blasters history, Chennaiyin managed to grab the victory through goals from Elano and Bernard Mendy.[18] The winless streak continued for the Kerala Blasters as they headed into their third match against Atlético de Kolkata. An equalizer from Iain Hume meant that the Blasters managed to draw the match 1–1 and thus earn their first ever point.[19] The draw helped propel the momentum for the Kerala Blasters as they ended their first month of competitive football with their first ever victory against Pune City. The Blasters fell behind in the match early through a David Trezeguet goal in the 15th minute but Chinadorai Sabeeth managed to level the score in the 41st minute, becoming the first Indian player to score for the team ever. It was then Penn Orji who scored the winning goal in the 65th minute as the Kerala Blasters won 2–1.[20]

The team then began what would be a long month of November for the team as they would have to play eight matches. Their first match came on 2 November against Mumbai City in Mumbai. The Blasters fell in the match 1–0 after Nicolas Anelka scored for Mumbai City from a free-kick.[21] The team then returned to Kerala to play their first home game of the season of a three-game home stand against FC Goa on 6 November. After a goalless first half, it was Milagres Gonsalves who came up with the winning goal for the Kerala Blasters in the 64th minute as the Blasters won 1–0.[22] Despite the opening home victory, the Kerala Blasters were unable to do more than achieve 0–0 in their next two matches against the Delhi Dynamos and Mumbai City respectively.[23][24]

After their three-match home stand, the Kerala Blasters returned to the road as the took on the Delhi Dynamos in Delhi. A 61st-minute goal from Penn Orji was enough as the Blasters won the away tie 1–0.[25] Five days later, the Blasters returned home to take on Atlético de Kolkata. Early goals from Iain Hume and Pedro Gusmão helped lead the Kerala Blasters to a 2–1 victory of the Kolkata side.[26] The joy from the victory was short-lived though as the Kerala Blasters ended the month losing two matches in a row. Their first defeat occurred away from home to FC Goa on 26 November. A brace from Miroslav Slepička and another goal from André Santos lead to the Blasters losing 3–0.[27] That defeat was followed with a 1–0 defeat at home to Chennaiyin.[28]

With just two matches left before the finals entering December, the Kerala Blasters knew the two matches would be crucial for their season.[29] Their first match occurred on 4 December against NorthEast United. Despite creating many chances upfront, the Blasters were held to a 0–0 result.[30] That result meant that the final match of the regular season, at home to Pune City, would prove to be the decider between the two sides to see who qualifies for the finals.[31] Due to a free-kick goal from Iain Hume and a fantastic performance from Sandip Nandy in goal, the Kerala Blasters came out victorious 1–0 and thus qualified for the finals.[32]

13 October 2014 1	NorthEast United	1–0	Kerala Blasters	Guwahati
19:00 IST	Koke  45'	Report		Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Attendance: 29,500 Referee: Pratap Singh

21 October 2014 2	Chennaiyin	2–1	Kerala Blasters	Chennai
19:00 IST	Elano  14' (pen) Mendy  63'	Report	Hume  50'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 19,430 Referee: Rahul Dsa

26 October 2014 3	Atlético de Kolkata	1–1	Kerala Blasters	Kolkata
16:30 IST	Sahni  22'	Report	Hume  41'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Arumughan Rowan

30 October 2014 4	Pune City	1–2	Kerala Blasters	Pune
19:00 IST	Trezeguet  15'	Report	Sabeeth  41' Orji  65'	Stadium: Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Attendance: 8,227 Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar

2 November 2014 5	Mumbai City	1–0	Kerala Blasters	Mumbai
19:00 IST	Anelka  45'	Report		Stadium: DY Patil Stadium Attendance: 20,439 Referee: Jarred Gillett

6 November 2014 6	Kerala Blasters	1–0	Goa	Kochi
19:00 IST	Gonsalves  64'	Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 49,517 Referee: Jarred Gillet

9 November 2014 7	Kerala Blasters	0–0	Delhi Dynamos	Kochi
19:00 IST		Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 34,657 Referee: Pranjal Banerjee

12 November 2014 8	Kerala Blasters	0–0	Mumbai City	Kochi
19:00 IST		Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 41,362 Referee: Pranjal Banerjee

16 November 2014 9	Delhi Dynamos	0–1	Kerala Blasters	Delhi
19:00 IST		Report	Orji  61'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 17,853 Referee: Jarred Gillet

21 November 2014 10	Kerala Blasters	2–1	Atlético de Kolkata	Kochi
19:00 IST	Hume  4' Gusmão  42'	Report	Teferra  55'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 57,296 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov

26 November 2014 11	FC Goa	3–0	Kerala Blasters	Margao
19:00 IST	Slepička  63', 79' Santos  69'	Report		Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 19,752 Referee: Ranjit Bakshi

30 November 2014 12	Kerala Blasters	0–1	Chennaiyin	Kochi
19:00 IST		Report	Pelissari	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 61,323 Referee: Magho Singh

4 December 2014 13	Kerala Blasters	0–0	NorthEast United	Kochi
19:00 IST		Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 43,299 Referee: Anthony Simoes

9 December 2014 14	Kerala Blasters	1–0	Pune City	Kochi
19:00 IST	Hume  23'	Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 44,532 Referee: Samchista Doss

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
2	Goa	14	6	4	4	21	12	+9	22	2014 Indian Super League Semi-finals
3	Atlético de Kolkata	14	4	7	3	16	13	+3	19
4	Kerala Blasters	14	5	4	5	9	11	−2	19
5	Delhi Dynamos	14	4	6	4	16	14	+2	18
6	Pune City	14	4	4	6	12	17	−5	16

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
14	5	4	5	9	11	−2	19	3	3	1	4	2	+2	2	1	4	5	9	−4

Source: http://www.indiansuperleague.com/kerala-blasters-fc/schedules-results

Indian Super League finals

Semi-finals

The Kerala Blasters entered the finals as the fourth seed from the regular season and thus had to face the first seed, Chennaiyin in the semi-finals.[33] The first leg of the semi-final turned out to be the Blasters' best offensive performance of the season as they came away with the 3–0 advantage. Ishfaq Ahmed scored the first goal for Kerala in the 27th minute before Iain Hume doubled the lead in the 29th minute. The match was set to finish 2–0 before Sushanth Mathew fired home the third goal for the Kerala Blasters.[34] Despite having the advantage, the Blasters found themselves giving it away in Chennai. Strikes from Mikaël Silvestre and Jeje Lalpekhlua, as well as an own goal from Sandesh Jhingan saw the match end 3–0 to Chennaiyin and thus require extra-time to decide the tie. The match looked set to be going to penalties but it was Stephen Pearson who broke the deadlock in the 117th minute and send the Kerala Blasters into the final.[35]

13 December 2014 Leg 1	Kerala Blasters	3–0	Chennaiyin	Kochi
19:00 IST	Ahmed  27' Hume  29' Mathew  90+4'	Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 60,900 Referee: Pranjal Banerjee

16 December 2014 Leg 2	Chennaiyin	3–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 agg.)	Kerala Blasters	Chennai
19:00 IST	Silvestre  42' Jhingan (o.g.) Lalpekhlua  90'	Report	Pearson  117'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 25,327 Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar

Final

The final of the Indian Super League took place at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai against Atlético de Kolkata. The match remained at 0–0 until the very final minute of second stoppage time when Mohammed Rafique scored for Kolkata and thus take the title away from the Kerala Blasters.[36]

20 December 2014 Final	Kerala Blasters	0–1	Atlético de Kolkata	Mumbai
18:00 IST		Report	Rafique  90+5'	Stadium: DY Patil Stadium Attendance: 36,484 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov

Player statistics

Season stats

#	Position	Player	GP	G
2	DF	Cédric Hengbart	13	0
3	DF	Jamie McAllister	6	0
4	DF	Ramandeep Singh	0	0
5	DF	Nirmal Chettri	12	0
6	MF	Renedy Singh	2	0
7	MF	Sushanth Mathew	5	1
8	FW	Michael Chopra	9	0
9	FW	Pedro Gusmão	7	1
10	FW	Iain Hume	16	5
11	MF	Ishfaq Ahmed	9	1
12	FW	Chinadorai Sabeeth	8	1
13	MF	Duleep Menon	0	0
14	MF	Mehtab Hossain	9	0
15	DF	Sandesh Jhingan	14	0
16	DF	Gurwinder Singh	11	0
18	MF	Penn Orji	13	2
21	MF	Godwin Franco	4	0
22	DF	Raphaël Romey	8	0
23	DF	Avinabo Bag	5	0
24	GK	Sandip Nandy	6	0
25	MF	Stephen Pearson	17	1
27	FW	Andrew Barisic	11	0
29	DF	Saumik Dey	10	0
30	GK	Luis Barreto	1	0
32	DF	Colin Falvey	9	0
44	DF	Erwin Spitzner	0	0
70	GK	David James	12	0
85	MF	Pulga	6	0
88	FW	Milagres Gonsalves	13	1

See also

• 2014–15 in Indian football

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