KOCHI: LaLiga team Girona FC dominated the Toyota Yaris LaLiga World triangular competition, outclassing Indian Super League team Kerala Blasters FC 5-0 in the last game of the historic event at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in the city on Saturday.
Two days prior to the match, Girona FC had blanked A-League side Melbourne City FC in a similar fashion with a 6-0 scoreline. On the other hand, Kerala needed to win this game after being beaten 6-0 by Melbourne in their first match of the tournament.
The home side were impressive in their defence in the first 30 minutes of the match with a 4-4-2 formation. However, the visitors led 1-0 at half time courtesy a goal by Eric Montes against the run of play.
That moment seemed to give Girona FC’s midfield more confidence as they started to open up and play more attacking football, causing further defensive lapses and miscommunication between the Blasters. There was no looking back after the 53rd minute as Girona scored five impressive goals, giving the Blasters hardly any chance to make an impact.
The tournament surely helped all the three participating sides to find their right combinations and work on their plans as the upcoming season beckons them. The Man of the match was awarded to Pedro Porro for his brilliant gameplay in the wings, whereas the Man of the Tournament was awarded to Girona captain Alex Granell who stood like a rock for his team at the back, and managed to keep two clean sheets in two matches.
“I am extremely proud of my team for the way they played today; playing against a team that features in the top 3 leagues of the world is in itself a big feat. We managed to keep things pretty tight in the first half, the finally score line definitely doesn’t suggest the same but I think we looked a much improved side today from the first match. There are a lot of positives that we take from this tournament, we have a long preseason coming up ahead of us and with some fantastic young players in the squad I think we will be a force to reckon with once the ISL season begins” said David James, Kerala Blasters FC’s head coach.
“I am happy with the way we have kick started our pre-season, we have focused on the technical aspects of the game and have been training very hard from the past 3 weeks. This tournament was a learning experience for us as we got to play in a completely different weather from what we usually play, the crowd was fantastic and I would like to congratulate all the people who turned out for our matches. Overall it was a gratifying experience to be in India and play such a fantastic tournament. We have some tough matches coming up in our pre-season, we take on Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspurs in August and that should be a good match. I can confidently say we will be the team to watch out for once the season begins” signed off Girona manager Eusebio Sacritsan.
