Kerala Blasters was penalised by Jameshpur FC for some sloppy defence on Thursday night. Quite literally, that is.
The men from Kochi conceded penalties within a space of four minutes, on either side of the interval, as they slid to a 0-3 defeat at the GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim. After James Stewart converted both the penalty kicks, Daniel Chima Chukwu completed the rout.
Blasters (23 points) dropped to fifth from second while Jamshedpur (25) climbed from fifth to second, one point behind leader Hyderabad FC with a game in hand.
It turned out to be a match to forget for Denechandram Meitei and Marko Leskovic, in particular, as their lapses let the team down. The first of those errors came from Denechandram towards the end of what was a cagey opening half, the Blasters player bringing down Stewart inside the box. A grateful Scotsman calmly drove the ball home even as Blasters goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill dived the other way.
Soon after the break, Leskovic's decision to tackle Boris Singh from behind resulted in the second penalty. Stewart chose to kick it straighter this time, giving Gill no chance once again.
Five minutes later, Chukwu, off a fine ball from Boris, scored his third goal in as many matches for Jamshedpur, after leaving East Bengal in the transfer window.
The result: Jamshedpur FC 3 (Stewart 45-pen & 48-pen, Chukwu 53) bt Kerala Blasters 0.
