Majcen’s magic helps Punjab spoil Blasters night

Majcen’s magic helps Punjab spoil Blasters night

Slovenian Luka Majcen scored a goal and came up with an assist as Punjab FC spoiled the home side Kerala Blasters’ Thiruvonam Day celebrations with a 2-1 victory in the Indian Super League at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

Blasters started without its star midfielder Adrian Luna — one hears that he was unwell — and the match which was largely an insipid affair came to life in the last seven minutes or so with all the three goals coming during this period.

Majcen, who was brought in in the 67th minute, gave Punjab the lead with an 86th minute penalty after its forward Leon Augustine was brought down by the home defender Saheef.

Just when the Blasters appeared desperate with the clock ticking fast, seasoned defender Pritam Kotal came up with a nice curling long-ranger from the right which the new forward Jesus Nunez headed home for the equaliser in the second minute of injury time.

But three minutes later, Majcen broke the home fans hearts with a nice cross to Filip Mrzijak on the right. The Croatian produced a sliding shot for the match-winner as Punjab celebrated.

The match, the ISL opener for both the teams, was a midfield battle for a major part with both the teams failing to create clear chances for nearly 80 minutes.

The result: Kerala Blasters FC 1 (Jesus Nunez 90+2) lost to Punjab FC 2 (Luka Majcen 86-p, Filip Mrzijak 90+5).