2017–18 Kerala Blasters FC season

The 2017–18 season was the fourth season of competitive football played by the Kerala Blasters. They played their first competitive match on 17 November 2017 while playing their last match on 6 April 2018. The club ended the Indian Super League campaign in 6th place, thus missing out on a chance to participate in the finals. The Kerala Blasters also participated in the Super Cup, being eliminated in the first round by NEROCA.

Kerala Blasters
2017–18 season
CEOVarun Tripuraneni
Head CoachRené Meulensteen
(until 3 January 2018)
David James
(from 3 January 2018)
StadiumJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi
ISL6th
FinalsDid not qualify
Super CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Iain Hume
(5 goals)
All: Iain Hume
(5 goals)
Highest home attendance37,986 vs. Bengaluru
(31 December 2017)[1]
Lowest home attendance16,796 vs. Delhi Dynamos
(27 January 2018)[2]
Average home league attendance31,763

Following the departure of Steve Coppell to the new side Jamshedpur, Kerala Blasters announced the signing of René Meulensteen as their new head coach on 14 July 2017. The club also participated in the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft, bringing in Rino Anto, Milan Singh, Arata Izumi, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, and Jackichand Singh. Former Kerala Blasters forward Iain Hume rejoined the side in July while the club also signed former Manchester United players Wes Brown and Dimitar Berbatov in the lead up to the season.

After only winning one match in their first seven games, Meulensteen was relieved of his duties on 3 January 2018. David James, the Kerala Blasters head coach during the 2014 season, was brought in as the new head coach the same day.

Background
Main article: 2016 Kerala Blasters FC season

In 2016, in an effort to rebuild after failing to qualify for the finals the previous season, Kerala Blasters announced the signing of former Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell as head coach on 21 June 2016.[3] A week later, the club announced the signing of Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes as their marquee player for the season.[4] Other moves made before the season included the signing of Graham Stack, Kervens Belfort, Duckens Nazon, and Mohammed Rafique and return of former players Michael Chopra and Cédric Hengbart.[5]

The season began where the previous left off, with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United.[6] After the first month of the season, the Blasters had one of the best defenses statistically in the league but struggled in attack.[7] In the second half of the season, after the return of C.K. Vineeth from loan with Bengaluru FC, the Blasters managed to surge their way into the finals.[8] They achieved this by defeating Delhi Dynamos 3–0 in a penalty shootout during the semi-final.[9] In the final, the Kerala Blasters would play host to Atlético de Kolkata. The Blasters took the lead early through Mohammed Rafi before Kolkata equalized soon after. The match went into a penalty shootout, Despite taking the lead early in the shootout, the Kerala Blasters lost 4–3 and thus were defeated in their second final in three seasons.[10]

Kerala Blasters began their preparations for the 2017–18 season by bringing in former Manchester United assistant coach René Meulensteen as the club's new head coach.[11] The signing of Meulensteen came only two days after former head coach Steve Coppell announced that he would be leaving the club.[12] A couple of weeks later, on 23 July 2017, the Kerala Blasters participated in the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft. Since the club had already retained the services of Sandesh Jhingan, C.K. Vineeth, and Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, the Blasters would enter the draft in round three.[13] For their first draft pick, the Kerala Blasters selected defender Rino Anto. Anto was already part of the Kerala Blasters the previous season, on loan from Bengaluru.[14] The club also selected India internationals, Milan Singh, Arata Izumi, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, and Jackichand Singh. The club also selected defenders Lalruatthara and Lalthakima, both of whom won the I-League in 2016–17 with Aizawl.[14]

The next day, on 24 July, the Kerala Blasters announced their first foreign signing of the season, Canadian international and former Kerala Blasters player, Iain Hume.[15] Following the signing of Hume, the club made headlines when they signed former Manchester United defender Wes Brown on 15 August 2017, and another former Manchester United player, Dimitar Berbatov, on 24 August.[16][17] "In terms of selection of players, we were looking at him for quite sometime," said Varun Tripuraneni, the Kerala Blasters CEO, "After Rene Meulensteen came on board, it became easier to get the deal done. Berbatov has been with Rene in Manchester United, so they share a comfort level and chemistry".[17]

Just a few days prior to the start of the season, Meulensteen named Jhingan as his club captain for the season.[18]

Signings

Pre-season
11 October 2017 (2017-10-11) FriendlyKerala Blasters1–0Athletic de CoínMarbella
Report
18 October 2017 (2017-10-18) FriendlyKerala Blasters1–1Juventud de TorremolinosMarbella
Report
23 October 2017 (2017-10-23) FriendlyKerala Blasters2–0Real Balompédica LinenseMarbella
Report
26 October 2017 (2017-10-26) FriendlyKerala Blasters0–3MarbellaMarbella
Report
11 November 2017 (2017-11-11) FriendlyKerala Blasters0–0Gokulam KeralaKerala
Report

Indian Super League
Main article: 2017–18 Indian Super League season

The 2017–18 season of the Indian Super League sees 10 teams play 18 matches during the regular season; two against each other team, with one match at each club's stadium. Three points are awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams in the table qualify for the finals. The team in first will take on the team in fourth and the team in second will take on the team in third in two-legged ties. The winners of each tie will face off in the final at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 17 March 2018.[30]

The Kerala Blasters hosted ATK at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in a rematch of last season's final, on the opening day of the season. Despite the match being billed as a "high-voltage clash amid an electric atmosphere", the match ended in a 0–0 draw.[31][32] The same result would occur a week later in the Blasters' second match against the new entrants Jamshedpur.[33]

Following these two draws, René Meulensteen stressed how it important it was for the club to start scoring goals. "The most important goal to score in a season is the first one, because the moment you score the first one, it will bring confidence.”[34] The first match of December was at home against Mumbai City on 3 December. The Blasters scored their first goal of the season in the 14th minute when Mark Sifneos scored from a cross from the wing. However, in the 77th minute, Mumbai City found an equalizer through Balwant Singh and the match ended 1–1 - a third draw in a row at home.[35] After playing their first three matches of the season at home, the Kerala Blasters played their first away match of the season against Goa at the Fatorda Stadium on 9 December. A Mark Sifneos goal in the 7th minute saw the Blasters take an early lead before Manuel Lanzarote scored a brace for Goa to give the hosts a 2–1 lead. Jackichand Singh then scored an equalizer for Kerala to make it 2–2 before halftime. The second half would be different for the Kerala Blasters as they found themselves down 5–2 by the 54th minute. Coro, who had scored a hattrick the previous match for Goa against Bengaluru, grabbed another hattrick to succumb Kerala Blasters to their first defeat of the season.[36]

The club responded very well from the defeat, earning their first victory of the season in the next match on 15 December against NorthEast United. C.K. Vineeth, who returned from suspension, scored the only goal of the match in the 24th minute from a header which came from a Rino Anto cross.[37] Seven days later, the club returned to the road in the Southern derby against Chennaiyin. Despite Rene Mihelič scoring for the hosts in the 89th minute, C.K. Vineeth managed to equalize for the Kerala Blasters only five minutes later in stoppage time to give the Blasters a point.[38]

The Kerala Blasters then ended the year with another 'Southern Derby" match against new expansion side Bengaluru at the Nehru Stadium. Meulensteen made several changes from the previous match against Chennaiyin, including dropping goalkeeper Paul Rachubka to the bench for Indian goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury. Samuel Shadap also started at right back as replacement for the injured Rino Anto. C.K. Vineeth, who had been on form in the lead up to this match, was also dropped with no reason given and replaced with Iain Hume.[39] During the match, the Blasters managed to hold Bengaluru at 0–0 going into halftime. However, in the 60th minute, Blasters captain Sandesh Jhingan handled the ball in the penalty box after a cross from Udanta Singh. Bengaluru's Sunil Chhetri converted the ensuing penalty to give the away side the lead.[40] The Kerala Blasters proceeded to try to find the equalizer but three minutes into stoppage time Miku found the net for Bengaluru to increase their lead and then he did it again only a minute later to make it 3–0. Despite the two late goals, Courage Pekuson managed to find time to grab a consolation goal for the Blasters in the 96th minute as they fell to their second defeat of the season.[41]

After the match, on 3 January 2018, it was announced that Meulensteen had been relieved of his duties as head coach of the club.[42] That same day, the Kerala Blasters announced that David James, the club's head coach during the 2014 season, would return to the club.[43] Also on that day, the club announced the signing of their eighth foreigner, midfielder Kizito Keziron from Leopards in Kenya.[25]

James' first match in charge of the Kerala Blasters was against second place Pune City on 4 January 2018. His tenure in charge did not start well as the club found themselves 1–0 down at halftime through a Marcelinho goal. However, during the second half of the match, the Blasters came alive with James bringing on new signing Kizito Keziron after the halftime interval and the Ugandan contributed to what would be the equalizer for the Kerala Blasters. He sent a through-ball over to Courage Pekuson who then squared the ball into the middle for Mark Sifneos to slot it home in the 73rd minute.[44] The match would go on to end 1–1.[44]

After the match against Pune City, the Kerala Blasters started a three match run away from home. Their first match occurred on 10 January 2018 against last placed Delhi Dynamos. Iain Hume opened the scoring for the Blasters in the 12th minute when he put in a squared ball from Courage Pekuson. Then, right before halftime, Delhi found an equalizer through fullback Pritam Kotal. Hume then scored his second of the night in the 78th minute before completing his hat-trick in the 83rd minute when he outmuscled and outpaced Delhi defender Rowilson Rodrigues and chipped the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper. The match finished 3–1 to the Kerala Blasters.[45] The team then extended their winning run to two, after securing a 1–0 victory in their match away to Mumbai City on 14 January 2018. Iain Hume was once again the lone scorer for the Blasters as the Canadian found the net in the 23rd minute.[46]

Three days later, the Kerala Blasters played their final of three straight away matches against Jamshedpur. Paul Rachubka returned to the starting line-up while C.K. Vineeth also returned from injury. Despite the changes, the Kerala Blasters fell 2–1 to the new expansion side from Jharkhand. Jerry Mawihmingthanga opened the scoring for Jamshedpur in the very first minute when he converted what was a scuffed shot from teammate Ashim Biswas. Biswas then found the net himself 30 minutes later to extend Jamshedpur's lead. Mark Sifneos found a consolation goal for the Blasters three minutes into second half stoppage time but it was too late to save the match.[47]

The Kerala Blasters returned home with a match against Goa on 21 January. David James decided to go with only four foreigners on the pitch for Kerala and it proved a bad choice only seven minutes into the match as Coro found the net. However, 22 minutes later, C.K. Vineeth managed to find Kerala's equalizer after he exploited the space left by the Goan defenders in the middle. Despite that though, Goa once again took the lead in the 77th minute when Edu Bedia won the game for Goa, 2–1.[48]

On 27 January 2018, the Kerala Blasters took on bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Coming into the match, the Blasters had released Dutch striker Mark Sifneos and signed former Iceland international Guðjón Baldvinsson as a replacement.[26] David James once again sent out a side that played less than the 5 max foreigners allowed in the starting 11, with three taking the field. Kalu Uche gave the Delhi Dynamos the lead from the penalty spot in the 35th minute after Prasanth Karuthadathkuni brought Dynamos' Seityasen Singh down in the box. At halftime, James took off Karan Sawhney and brought on 19-year old Deependra Negi for his professional debut and three minutes into the second half the former India U17 captain scored the equalizer for the Kerala Blasters from a corner. Negi then contributed to the Blasters' second goal when he drew a penalty while running into the box. Iain Hume scored the ensuing spot kick as the Kerala Blasters went on to win 2–1.[49]

On 2 February 2018, the Kerala Blasters played their first match of the last full month of the season against Pune City at the Balewadi Stadium. Despite having the most chances in the first half, it took until the 58th minute for the Blasters to take the lead through Jackichand Singh. Emiliano Alfaro then equalized for Pune City in the 78th minute before C.K. Vineeth found the winner for the Kerala Blasters three minutes into stoppage time for them to win 2–1.[50] Six days later, the club traveled to Kolkata to take on ATK. Despite Guðjón Baldvinsson and Dimitar Berbatov scoring their first goals for the club, both times giving the team the lead, the Blasters conceded twice to draw the match 2–2.[51]

The Kerala Blasters then ended their three game away run with a victory against NorthEast United on 17 February 2018 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. Wes Brown scored the winner for the club in the 28th minute to keep the Blasters hopes of qualification alive.[52] On 23 February, the Blasters played their final home match of the season against Southern rivals Chennaiyin. Neither side could find the net in the 0–0 draw as the Blasters' chance of qualification for the finals suffered a massive blow.[53]

The Blasters then ended their season on 1 March 2018 away from home against Bengaluru. Despite managing to hold on throughout the match, Bengaluru managed to come out as 2–0 winners with stoppage time goals coming from Miku and Udanta Singh. This meant that the Blasters had failed to qualify for the finals for the second time in their history.[54]

17 November 2017 (2017-11-17) 1Kerala Blasters0–0ATKKochi
20:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 37,462
Referee: Aurélien Juenkou
24 November 2017 (2017-11-24) 2Kerala Blasters0–0JamshedpurKochi
20:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 36,752
Referee: Ranjit Bakshi
3 December 2017 (2017-12-03) 3Kerala Blasters1–1Mumbai CityKochi
20:00 IST Sifneos  14' Report B. Singh  77' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 35,392
Referee: R Venkatesh
9 December 2017 (2017-12-09) 4Goa5–2Kerala BlastersMargao
20:00 IST Lanzarote  9', 18'
Coro  47', 51', 54'		 Report Sifneos  7'
J. Singh  30'		 Stadium: Fatorda Stadium
Attendance: 18,482
Referee: C. R. Srikrishna
15 December 2017 (2017-12-15) 5Kerala Blasters1–0NorthEast UnitedKochi
20:00 IST Vineeth  24' Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 33,868
Referee: Rowan Arumughan
22 December 2017 (2017-12-22) 6Chennaiyin1–1Kerala BlastersChennai
20:00 IST Vineeth  90+4' Report Rene Mihelič  89' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 16,754
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
31 December 2017 (2017-12-31) 7Kerala Blasters1–3BengaluruKochi
17:30 IST Pekuson  90+6' Report Chhetri  60' (pen)
Miku  90+3', 90+4'		 Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 37,986
Referee: R Venkatesh
4 January 2018 (2018-01-04) 8Kerala Blasters1–1Pune CityKochi
20:00 IST Sifneos  73' Report Marcelinho  33' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 26,586
Referee: R. Venkatesh
10 January 2018 (2018-01-10) 9Delhi Dynamos1–3Kerala BlastersDelhi
20:00 IST Kotal  44' Report Hume  12', 78', 83' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 10,132
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar
14 January 2018 (2018-01-14) 10Mumbai City0–1Kerala BlastersMumbai
17:30 IST Report Hume  23' Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena
Attendance: 8,597
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
17 January 2018 (2018-01-17) 11Jamshedpur2–1Kerala BlastersJamshedpur
20:00 IST Mawihmingthanga  1'
Biswas  31'		 Report Sifneos  90+3' Stadium: JRD Tata Sports Complex
Attendance: 21,240
Referee: Raul Gupta
21 January 2018 (2018-01-21) 12Kerala Blasters1–2GoaKochi
20:00 IST Vineeth  29' Report Coro  7'
Bedia  77'		 Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 29,769
Referee: Raul Gupta
27 January 2018 (2018-01-27) 13Kerala Blasters2–1Delhi DynamosKochi
20:00 IST Negi  48'
Hume  75' (pen)		 Report Uche  35' (pen) Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 16,796
Referee: Ranjit Bakshi
2 February 2018 (2018-02-02) 14Pune City1–2Kerala BlastersPune
20:00 IST Alfaro  78' (pen) Report J. Singh  58'
Vineeth  90+3'		 Stadium: Balewadi Stadium
Attendance: 9,463
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
9 February 2018 (2018-02-09) 15ATK2–2Kerala BlastersKolkata
20:00 IST Taylor  38'
Thorpe  75'		 Report Baldvinsson  33'
Berbatov  55'		 Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium
Attendance: 4,292
Referee: R Venkatesh
17 February 2018 (2018-02-17) 16NorthEast United0–1Kerala BlastersGuwahati
20:00 IST Report Brown  28' Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 1,212
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar
23 February 2018 (2018-02-23) 17Kerala Blasters0–0ChennaiyinKochi
20:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 31,259
Referee: Matthew Conger
1 March 2018 (2018-03-01) 18Bengaluru2–0Kerala BlastersBangalore
20:00 IST Miku  90+1'
U. Singh  90+3'		 Report Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium
Attendance: 25,373
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
4 Pune City 18 9 3 6 30 21 +9 30 Qualification for the semifinals
5 Jamshedpur 18 7 5 6 16 18 −2 26
6 Kerala Blasters 18 6 7 5 20 22 −2 25
7 Mumbai City 18 7 2 9 25 29 −4 23
8 Delhi Dynamos 18 5 4 9 27 37 −10 19
Source: Indian Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) fair play ranking; 6) drawing of lots

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
18 6 7 5 20 22  −2 25 2 6 2 7 8  −1 4 1 3 13 14  −1

Super Cup
Main article: 2018 Indian Super Cup

The Super Cup is a knockout football competition in India. The 2018 edition will be the first ever tournament. The competition will only feature teams from both the Indian Super League and the I-League, India's two top-tier football leagues.[55] As the Kerala Blasters finished in sixth place during the 2017–18 ISL season, they will enter the main competition directly which will be hosted at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.[56]

The Kerala Blasters were drawn to face NEROCA on 6 April 2018.[57] NEROCA had finished 2nd in the 2017–18 I-League.[58]

During the match, the Blasters were eliminated after losing 3–2.[59] Goals for NEROCA were scored by Jean-Michel Joachim, Aryn Williams, and Felix Chidi Odili while Kerala Blasters found the net through Pulga and Prasanth Karuthadathkuni.[59]

6 April 2018 (2018-04-06) First roundNEROCA3–2Kerala BlastersBhubaneswar
Joachim  68'
Williams  79'
Odili  81' (pen.)		 Report Pulga  11'
Karuthadathkuni  49'		 Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
Attendance: 1,865
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee

Player statistics
Season stats
# Position Player League Cup Total
GPGGPGGPG
1GK Paul Rachubka11(1)000100012(1)000
4DF Nemanja Lakić-Pešić9(3)070100010(3)070
6DF Wes Brown14130100015130
7FW Karan Sawhney2(2)00000002(2)000
8MF Arata Izumi600010007000
9FW Dimitar Berbatov8(1)11000008(1)110
10FW Iain Hume10(3)510000010(3)510
11FW Prasanth Karuthadathkuni4(6)01011005(6)110
12MF Milan Singh9(6)010100010(6)010
13MF C.K. Vineeth13 (1)421100014(1)000
14MF Loken Meitei1(5)0000(1)0001(6)000
15MF Deependra Negi1(2)1000(1)0001(3)100
16FW Guðjón Baldvinsson4(2)10000004(2)100
18MF Sahal Abdul Samad0(2)00000000(2)000
19MF Siam Hanghal6(2)01000006(2)010
20MF Jackichand Singh16(1)200000016(1)200
21DF Sandesh Jhingan17040100018040
22DF Jishnu Balakrishnan000000000000
23DF Pritam Kumar Singh0 (1)01000000(1)010
24GK Sandip Nandy000000000000
25GK Sujith Sasikumar000000000000
27GK Subhasish Roy Chowdhury701000007010
28DF Samuel Shadap2(2)01000002(2)010
31DF Rino Anto130000(1)00013(1)000
32DF Lalthakima000000000000
36MF Ajith Sivan000000000000
39DF Lalruatthara17040100018040
85MF Pulga100011002100
99MF Courage Pekuson17110100018110
Left Club Midseason
29FW Mark Sifneos7 (5)410
17MF Kizito Keziron3 (1)000

Goalscorers
As of 6 April 2018
Rank Position Name Indian Super League Indian Super Cup Total
1 FW Iain Hume 5 0 5
2 FW Mark Sifneos 4 0 4
MF C.K. Vineeth 4 0 4
4 MF Jackichand Singh 2 0 2
5 MF Courage Pekuson 1 0 1
MF Deependra Negi 1 0 1
FW Guðjón Baldvinsson 1 0 1
FW Dimitar Berbatov 1 0 1
DF Wes Brown 1 0 1
MF Pulga 0 1 1
FW Prasanth Karuthadathkuni 0 1 1

Clean sheets
As of 6 April 2018
Rank Name Indian Super League Total
1 Paul Rachubka 5 5
2 Subhasish Roy Chowdhury 1 1

See also

References
  1. "Kerala Blasters 1-3 Bengaluru". Indian Super League.
  2. "Kerala Blasters 2-1 Delhi Dynamos". Indian Super League.
  3. "Kerala Blasters announce Steve Coppell as manager for ISL 2016". FirstPost. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  4. "Kerala Blasters bags Aaron Hughes as marquee player". Times of India. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. "Indian Super League 2016 Team Profile - Kerala Blasters". Goal.com. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  6. "NorthEast United 1-0 Kerala Blasters - Katsumi Yusa wins it for Highlanders". Goal.com. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  7. Bali, Rahul (26 October 2016). "Kerala Blasters' invoke defensive rally as FC Goa continue to crumble". Goal.com. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  8. "CK Vineeth - If I prove myself, I'll get selected in the national team". Goal.com. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  9. Puri, Rohan (15 December 2016). "Delhi Dynamos fumble at the post". Times of India. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  10. Ghosh, Sayan (19 December 2016). "Atletico de Kolkata beat Kerala Blasters 4-3 on penalties to win ISL 2016". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  11. Bharali, Abhijit (14 July 2017). "ISL 2017: Kerala Blasters name Rene Meulensteen as head coach". sportskeeda. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  12. Bharali, Abhijit (13 July 2017). "Kerala Blasters confirm Steve Coppell's exitThis". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  13. "200 plus Indian Players Vie for Ten ISL Clubs selection". Indian Super League. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  14. "ISL 2017 player draft, as it happened: ATK, Jamshedpur FC and Pune strike big". The Field. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  15. "Iain Hume signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  16. "Wes Brown signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  17. "A big catch: Kerala Blasters sign former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov". The Field. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  18. "Kerala Blasters' Rene Meulensteen - Sandesh Jhingan And Nemanja Lakic-pesic Were Outstanding". Goal.com. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  19. "Courage Pekuson signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  20. "Nemanja Lakić-Pešić signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  21. "Paul Rachubka signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  22. "Mark Sifneos signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  23. "Sandip Nandy signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  24. "Sahal and Jishnu signed". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  25. "Kizito Keziron to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  26. "Guðjón Baldvinsson to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  27. "Pulga Returns to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  28. "Mark Sifneos Released". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  29. Easwar, Nisanth (1 February 2018). "Kerala Blasters bring back Victor Pulga". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  30. "ISL 2017-18 full schedule: Here's the complete list of all the matches, venues and dates". FirstPost. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  31. "Kerala Blasters Vs ATK - TV Channel, Stream, Kick-off Time & Match Preview". Goal.com. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  32. "Kerala Blasters 0-0 ATK". Soccerway.
  33. "Kerala Blasters 0-0 Jamshedpur". Soccerway.
  34. "Kerala Blasters vs Mumbai City FC, ISL 2017-18: As it happened". Times Now News. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  35. "Kerala Blasters 1-1 Mumbai City". Soccerway.
  36. "Goa 5-2 Kerala Blasters". Soccerway.
  37. "Kerala Blasters 1-0 NorthEast United". Soccerway.
  38. "Chennaiyin 1-1 Kerala Blasters". Soccerway.
  39. "ISL 2017, Match 36: Kerala Blasters vs Bengaluru FC, Player Ratings". SportsKeeda.
  40. "Miku's brace and Chhetri's penalty give Bengaluru bragging rights". Indian Super League. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  41. "Kerala Blasters 1-3 Bengaluru". Soccerway.
  42. "ISL side Kerala Blasters FC confirm parting of ways with Rene Meulensteen". Hindustan Times. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  43. "David James becomes head coach of ISL side Kerala Blasters". FourFourTwo. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  44. "Marcelinho, Sifneos on target as Pune hold Kerala at home". Indian Super League. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  45. "Kerala Blasters on fire as Iain Hume hat-trick sinks Delhi Dynamos 3-1". Indian Express. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  46. "Iain Hume strikes again as Kerala Blasters FC pip Mumbai City FC". Hindustan Times. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  47. "Jamshedpur FC vs Kerala Blasters: Hosts end visitors' unbeaten run". FirstPost. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  48. "Kerala Blasters 1-2 Goa". Soccerway.
  49. "Deependra Singh Negi gives Kerala Blasters crucial win vs Delhi Dynamos FC". Hindustan Times. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  50. "Pune City 1-2 Kerala Blasters". Soccerway.
  51. "ATK 2-2 Kerala Blasters". Soccerway.
  52. "NorthEast United 0-1 Kerala Blasters". Soccerway.
  53. "Chennaiyin FC inch closer to semi-final spot after holding Kerala Blasters to goalless draw". FirstPost. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  54. "Bengaluru FC end Kerala Blasters' semi-final hopes with two late goals". FirstPost. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  55. "Inaugural Super Cup's final round from Mar 31-Apr 22: AIFF". Times of India. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  56. "Final round of Super Cup to start from March 31". Business Standard. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  57. Ganguly, Abhishek (12 March 2018). "Mohun Bagan face either Delhi Dynamos or Churchill Brothers in Super Cup". Times of India. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  58. "Neroca hold East Bengal, finish second in maiden I-League season". Times of India. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  59. "Kerala Blasters lose to NEROCA". Super Cup. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.