Durand Cup 2023: Kerala Blasters, Indian Air Force play for pride

Kerala Blasters will eye their first win of the Durand Cup campaign.

The penultimate day of the group matches of the 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup on Monday (August 21, 2023) will feature the first and only game at the East Bengal Ground in Kolkata between the Kerala Blasters and the Indian Air Force football team (IAFFT), followed by a crucial game in Kokrajhar’s SAI stadium between the Indian Army football team (IAFT) and Rajasthan United FC (RUFC).

The first Group C game in Kolkata has a scheduled kick-off at 3.00pm Indian Standard Time (IST) while the second Group F game which kicks-off at 6.00pm IST in Kokrajhar.

Whatever be the result of the Kerala Blasters-IAFFT game, both teams will be playing their final games of this edition of the IndianOil Durand Cup. The Manjappadas have a solitary point from two games as do the Air Men and a win and four points will certainly not be enough to qualify as one of the two-second placed sides. Besides champions Bengaluru FC can still log more points than both of them given they have a game in hand.

Air Force coach Priya Darshan however was certain he wanted to sign-off with a win, saying ahead of the game,”Team needs a win and we will go all out for this.”

Frank Dauwen, who has been deputising for Head Coach Ivan Vukomanovic for the Durand Cup will also be hoping his talented side sign-off with a win. They were on the wrong end of a seven-goal slug fest with Gokulam Kerala and drew with the champions, however someone like a Md. Aimen has really caught the eye and played some pleasing football for them.

Kerala Blasters' previous result

Defending champions Bengaluru FC (BFC) and Kerala Blasters shared the spoils in the Southern Derby, which lived up to expectations and finished 2-2 at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK) in Kolkata.

The Group C 132nd IndianOil Durand Cup match result meant that Gokulam Kerala became the fourth team to officially qualify for the last eight stage of the tournament. Justine Emmanuel and Md. Aimen scored for the Blasters while Edmund Lalrindika and Ashish Jha were on the board for the champions.