Welcome to Sportstar’s live of this evening’s semifinal clash between Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL 2021-22) clash being played at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.

This is Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this high-voltage clash.

90+2′ Substitution for KBFC! In: Enes Sipovic, Out: Jorge Pereyra Diaz

90+1′ Lima takes the corner kick, which is initially cleared by Leskovic and Ritwik tries to cross the ball in after receiving it, but loses his footing as Gill grabs it well

89′ Khabra clears the long ball, floated in by Lima in the KBFC box. What a brilliant defensive job done by Vukomanovic’s men tonight

88′ Lima takes the free kick, which initially headed away, is hit by Pandita on the volley. However, the ball goes just wide.

Meanwhile, Lima has pickes up a yellow card for pushing Barretto, shortly after  getting the free kick

87′ Foul! Lima is fouled by Jeakson Singh from a scoring position — one that suits for a set-piece goal as well.

86′ KBFC dominating the play at the moment, intercepting JFC’s passes, stealing the ball from Coyle’s men and keeping JFC out of its own penalty box.

84′ Substitution for KBFC! In: Vincy Barretto, Out: Sahal Samad

81′ Yellow Card! the goalscorer tonigh, Sahal Abdul Samad gets into the book for a rash challenge

81′ Double substitution for JFC! In: Alexandre Lima, Ishan Pandita, Out: Greg Stewart, Jitendra Singh

79′ Shot! Riwtik makes a great run along the right, shuffles left and right and goes for goal from distance only to see the ball fly over the goal.

78′ As the match resumes after the break, it is action again at the Fatorda Stadium as Lima and Pandita get ready to come on to the pitch

76′ Time for the second water break!

73′ Diaz and Luna pair up after a Khabra free kick, with Luna shooting in the end with a right-footed curler. Rehenesh catches it easily to make another regulation save

71′ Triple Substitution for KBFC! In: Jeakson Singh, Chencho Gyeltsen, Sandeep, Out: Ayush Adhikari, Alvaro Vazquez, Sanjiv Stalin

70′ KBFC’s corner kick is headed on target by Leskovic, but Rehenesh catches it easily to end that set-piece attack

68′ Adrian Luna is pulled down by Hartley in what looked like a rash challenge. Surprisingly, no foul or card as the referee gives a goal kick in favour of JFC

67′ KBFC has five men at the back at the moment as Vukomanovic’s men enjoy the slender lead. They cannot let the lead slip for now!

65′ Double Substitution for JFC! In: Sandip Mandi, Jordan Murray, Out: Mobashir Rahman, Daniel Chima Chukwu

63′ Yellow Card! Vazquez brings down Ritwik Das and the Spaniard applauds the referee (sarcastically) for the decision and gets the first yellow card of the match

59′ Free Kick and off the bar! Luna takes the free kick and his curler hits the inside of the post and comes out only to be then cleared by JFC. Rehenesh was beaten

58′ KBFC attacks on the break, but Sabia tracks back on time to head the ball pout of play. Khabra throws the ball in and then receives it to cross it to Diaz.

Save! Diaz heads the ball on target as Reheneshhas his gloves glues to the ball.

56′ Free Kick! Greg Stewart steps up for the free kick as Eli Sabia heads in in for Hartley, who puts the ball into the net. However, the linesman has the flag raised

53′ Hormipam and Chima are having a good contest this as the Nigerian rushes to get the ball but Hormipam clears the ball away

52′ Luna tries to steal the ball, but goes to ground in the process — gets up and controls the ball as JFC gets the ball out for a throw in

49′ Off-side! Ricky is ruled offside as he receives the ball from Mobashir after his throw

48′ JFC marks KBFC’s run along the left flank, and tunes, but Sahal steals the ball and gets back along the wing, bugt his cross is caught by Rehenesh

46′ Foul! Puitea fouls Stewart from the back and and the free kick is taken quickly as JFC begins the half in its typical high-press fashion

Second Half Begins!

 

Half-Time!

Jamshedpur FC 0-1 Kerala Blasters FC

A first half goal by Sahal keeps KBFC in front at the half-way mark as the League Winners Shield winner eyes a comeback in the second half.

44′ Mobashir gets closed in along the right, but the ball still makes its way after a throught pass along the right flank as Gill rushes to get to it first

41′ KBFC’s set-piece attempts from the midfield is looking very dangerous against JFC, which has lost Doungel to an injury tonight

38′ GOAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!! Sahal gets in space in front of the JFC box and dinks it over Rehenesh to put KBFC in front. Sahal’s sixth goal this season as KBFC takes an early lead

JFC 0-1 KBFC

34′ Save! Stewart takes the free kick low as the ball is fed for Mobashir, who goes for goal, but Gill makes a key save at his near post

34′ Foul! Chima jumps for the ball and earns a free kick after a slim touch by Leskovic from the back. This is Stewart territory!

32′ As the match resumes, Chima and Hormipan get together as the KBFC defender fouls gets fouled by the JFC forward

30′ Time for a water break!

29′ Luna makes a run along the right as Sahal makes a brilliant run behind the JFC defence, but he receives the ball late as the ball goes out of play.

However, the replay shows the ball was well in play. Poor decision making by the linesmen.

26′ Chance! Luna’s corner kick is intercepted by Hartley as Diaz tries to close in and the corner that follows is eventually cleared away after another header by Hartley

25′ Substitution for JFC! In: Mobashir Rahman, Out: Seimeinlen Doungel

23′ Injury Update! Doungel does not look and indicates a substitution. The updates on his injury is that he has suffered a left-calf injury , but the extent of the damage is not yet known.

This does not look good for JFC as both sides utilise the stoppage to regroup and discuss strategies on the sidelines

20′ Shot! Chima steals the ball from the midfield and off he goes, storming into the box and shoots with his right foot. Off Target again.

19′ Foul! Ricky and Sahal try to get to the ball at the same time and Sahal goes to the ground. No cards involved whatsoever

17′ Free Kick! Greg Stewart takes the free kick and Hartley rushes in fromn the right, but his header falls right into the gloves of Gill

15′ Ritwik makes a run along the left flank, off the throw in gets the ball into the box off a cross, but Hormipam heads it away

12′ Stewart’s corner kick after a clearance gets back to the Scottish forward, who shifts on his right and left and then his cross is cleared by Leskovic for another corner.

This one, unlike the previous one, has Gill having the ball in his gloves

11′ Greg Stewart pairs up wth Ritwik and the latter floats in a cross from the left this time, but Leskovic clears the ball for a corner kick

10′ Chance! Chukwu gets the ball in the penalty box after Doungel heads the ball towards him from the right, but the Nigerian fails to keep the shot on target

8′ The match that has begun as a high-press contest, is eventually back to building from the back with Gill getting the ball back, passing it to Leskovic. Doungel steals the ball, manages to stay on his feet to cross the ball into the box, which is cleared by Hormipam

5′ Doungel gets the hball back into the KBFC final third and gets a corner kick. Greg takes the kick, which was meyt by Hartley, but the referee gives a free kick in favour of Kerala

The appeals for a handball are not acknowledged by the referee

4′ Chima makes a run along the right flank, but Leskovic marks him well to give JFC a throw-in opportunity. The throw is eventually cleared by the yellow shirts

3′ Ritwik Ddas dribbles, beats two KBFC players in his own half nad the ball goes out for a throw in. The throw taken by Khabra, eventually goes out of play after a touch by Sahal

1′ Two fouls within the first half as JFC closely mark KBFC and Diaz is locked in the JFC box as Khabra’s cross goes out for a goal kick

7-30 pm: Kick Off!

7-25 pm: The players are out on the ground and have lined up for the National Anthem of India, after which they wil take their positions on the field.

JFC starts in its home kit of red-and-blue, while KBFC also starts in its recognisable yellow-and-blue.

7-15 pm: Here is the key player from each team:

Greg Stewart, Jamshedpur FC: The Scottish forward has had an immense impact on Owen Coyle’s side and has 10 goals and as many assists in 19 matches.

Adrian Luna, Kerala Blasters FC: Luna has been the lynchpin of Kerala’s attack rising from the midifield and has left viewers in awe with his ling-ranger goal as well. The Uruguayan has five goals and seven assists in 20 matches.

7-00 pm: What are the coaches saying?

Jamshedpur FC Head Coach, Owen Coyle: “Kerala Blasters FC is a huge challenge. I think that the quality of the teams in the league is there for everyone to see, and the top four teams have finished at the place as it should, we’ve been the best team in the country all year.” “It was determined with the points we have, by the run we have been on. But when you come into a cup competition, anything can happen on any given day. So we’re very wary of the quality of the opponents and Kerala Blasters FC are a fantastic team.” Kerala Blasters FC Head Coach, Ivan Vukomanovic: “They (Jamshedpur FC) are a physically tough team. It would be an open fight. The 20 games are past now, this is a new chapter. So. it will be different.” “I have been here for the past three years, now we are finally in the playoffs. We are here because of everyone’s hard work. And now we are looking forward to beating JFC and going through to the finals.”

6-45 pm: TEAM FORM – Jamshedpur FC is on a seven-match winning run and has scored atleast three goals in its last six of the seven fixtures.

Kerala Blasters, on the other hand, has earned eight points from a possible 15 and will try to get back to winning ways to reduce its burden in the second leg.

6-32 pm: Starting Lineups are out!

Jamshedpur FC Starting XI: TP Rehenesh (GK) — Ricky Lallawmawma, PC Laldinpuia, Eli Sabia, Peter Hartley — Jitendra Singh, Pronay Halder — Ritwik Das, Greg Stewart, Seimenlein Doungel — Daniel Chukwu.

Kerala Blasters Starting XI: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK) — Sanjeev Stalin, Hormipam, Marko Leskovic, Harmanjot Khabra — Ayush Adhikari, Lalthathanga Khawlhring; Sahal Samad, Adrian Luna (C) — Jose Pereyra Diaz, Alvaro Vazquez.

6-15 pm: Chance to break the duck for Kerala!

Kerala Blasters has not beat Jamshedpur FC this season, with the two clashes ending as a win for JFC and a 1-1 draw. In case you missed the highlights, we’ve got you covered.

ISL 2021-22 Season Clashes:

6-00 pm: Here is how we think the two sides would lineup tonight.

Jamshedpur FC Predicted XI: (4-2-3-1 Probable) TP Rehenesh (GK) — Ricky Lallawmawma, Eli Sabia, Peter Hartley, Laldinliana Renthlei — Jitendra Singh, Pronay Halder — Ritwik Das, Greg Stewart, Seimenlen Doungel — Daniel Chukwu.

Kerala Blasters Predicted XI: (4-4-2 Probable) Prabhsukhan Gill (GK) — Sanjeev Stalin, Hormipam, Marko Leskovic, Harmanjot Khabra — Ayush Adhikari, Lalthathanga Khawlhring; Sahal Samad, Adrian Luna (C) — Jose Pereyra Diaz, Alvaro Vazquez.

5-45 pm: HEAD-TO-HEAD: Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters have met 10 times in the past and Jamshedpur has come out victorious six times. Kerala has beat Jamshedpur only once, which had come lst season on January 10, 2021.

This season, their meetings have seen one draw and a win for the Men of Steel.

MATCH PREVIEW

Jamshedpur FC has been very much the team to beat this season. If there is one team that has the resources to stop it, it is Kerala Blasters.

These two exciting sides, both boasting some of the finest attacking talents in the Indian Super League (ISL), come face-to-face at Fatorda’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday. There is plenty to look forward to in the first leg of the first semifinal in India’s top football league.

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ISL 2022: Jamshedpur FC beats ATK Mohun Bagan to win League Winners Shield

Jameshedpur, playing its first-ever semifinal, will start the favourite, having finished on top of the league table with 43 points and 13 wins. The points it scored is an ISL record; it is the highest by a team for a season.

Owen Coyle’s boys will be hoping to continue with their great run.

In Greg Stewart, one of the best players in the ISL this season with 10 goals and as many assists from 19 games, and Daniel Chima Chukwu, who has been sensational having scored seven goals from nine games after getting transferred from SC East Bengal, they have two men at the top of their game.

They certainly pose serious threats to any defence. But, then, so could the formidable foursome of Blasters, in the form of the gifted Adrian Luna, Alvaro Vazquez, Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Sahal Abdul Samad.

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ISL 2022: Kerala Blasters, blasting its way back into playoffs

Jamshedpur will be particularly wary of Luna. The Uruguayan midfielder has been a delight to watch, be it in set pieces or the way he plots his team’s attack.

After the first leg, the teams will return for the second on March 15.

Where can you watch the match?

The Jamshedpur FC vs Kerala Blasters match will start at 7-30pm and will be telecast live on the Star Network (SD and HD). It will also be live streamed in the OTT Platform, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV.