KOCHI: Adrian Luna is making it a habit of producing goals from nowhere.
On Friday, the Blasters skipper helped his side pull off a 2-1 comeback win over Odisha FC by orchestrating the equalizer and then scoring the winner in the second half at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi.
In a match which marked the return of Blasters' coach Ivan Vukomanovic to the dugout after serving a 10-match suspension, it was talismanic skipper Luna who stole the show.
Odisha took an early lead through Diego Mauricio in the 15th minute but Blasters turned the match on its head with two second-half goals from Dimitrios Diamantakos (66) and Luna (84).
As the match was beginning to get momentum, Blasters paid the price for some lacklustre defending at the quarter hour mark. A through pass from the centre off the field prized the Blasters' defence open and found Mauricio. Mauricio dribbled past an out-of-balance Hormipam inside the Blasters box and placed it perfectly into the net to register his sixth goal against the Kerala side.
After going down, Luna, who was playing as a striker, dropped into the midfield while Daisuke Sakai and Rahul KP, who were in the midfield, joined Kwame Pepreh in attack as Blasters switched to a 4-3-3 formation. But the move almost backfired for Blasters five minutes later as the home side conceded a penalty in the19th minute. Naocha Singh handled the ball inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot and dished out a yellow card to the defender.
However, Blasters goalkeeper Sachin Suresh rose to the occasion as he pulled out a double save to deny Odisha.
The game took a dramatic turn in the second half after Dimitrios Diamantakos was introduced into the attack by Vukomanovic in the 58th minute, replacing Rahul KP. Eight minutes later, Diamantakos equalised with a clean strike with Luna paving the way for the goal and Daisuke Sakai providing the assist. After winning a free kick on the left flank, Luna wasted no time in releasing the ball to find Sakai. The Japanese midfielder raced towards the Odisha box and passed the ball to Diamantakos, whose left-footed shot beat Amrinder Singh and landed in the far corner of the net.
Luna then produced the winner when the match appeared to be heading for a draw. Receiving a long ball from the Blasters' half, Luna caught the keeper off his line and dunked the ball perfectly into the net leaving Amarinder Singh helpless.
With this win, Blasters rose to the second spot in the points table with 10 points from five matches while Odisha FC remained in seventh place with four points from as many matches.
