It was a pass that launched a thousand Odisha ships.
As the clock read 97:26 in extra-time, Ahmed Jahouh's no-look loft over the top was a fitting way to end a game of football that was defined by its missed chances. The stat counters will only have it down as a progressive pass, but Jahouh's game-defining brilliance ended whatever hopes Kerala Blasters had of fashioning some success out of the 2023-24 Indian Super League season.
Adrian Luna has now been centre-stage for both of the moments that have ended Kerala Blasters' playoff run in consecutive seasons. Last time it was him watching Sunil Chhetri, this time the Uruguayan was out-foxed by Jahouh as he charged him down in the centre-of-the-park. Jahouh watched the Uruguayan close him down, looked the other way and then lofted a ball to Roy Krishna in space down the right wing. A low cross from Odisha's frontman followed and all Isak Ralte had to do was tap it home. 2-1 in extra time to Odisha, there was no coming back.
None of that, none of Odisha's brilliance at the Kalinga, none of their mental dominance over the Blasters, none of it happens without Jahouh having the chutzpah to pull off that pass. In extra-time, when the other 21 on the pitch laboured under the Bhubaneswar heat, a 35-year-old Moroccan decided to reduce this competitive game of football to a stroll in his back-garden. He'd begun the game with his hand on his hips, defined it with a pass that reeked of the arrogance of superior ability, and ended it with a knee slide in celebration.
It's no wonder that Sergio Lobera wanted Jahouh as soon as he penned his signature on the Odisha contract -- without Jahouh, he simply cannot win.
For all Jahouh's languid brilliance, it was a game that Kerala Blasters threw away. Ivan Vukomanovic's side could have walked away from this game as 4-1 winners in regulation time and it would have brooked no argument. Hormipam Ruivah's header from Freddy Lallawmawma's pass in the 21st minute ought to have been nestling in the back of the net instead of Amrinder Singh's arms. Even when it seemed like the Blasters would suffer another refereeing controversy in the playoffs, after a Mourtada Fall 'goal' (when clearly offside) was given in the first half, they kept their heads -- and saw it chalked off.
Admin thought he was seeing a replay ��#OFCKBFC #ISLPlayoffs #ISL #ISL10 #LetsFootball #OdishaFC | @Sports18 @OdishaFC pic.twitter.com/Miw0n2CbhF
- Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) April 19, 2024
Vukomanovic's men began the second half with the utmost dominance, as Fedor Cernych and Mohammed Aimen spurned chances that the injured Dimitrios Diamantakos, watching stony-faced in the stands, would have buried. And yet, the Blasters persevered, keeping at it, before Cernych finally found the target with a low strike across goal in the 67th minute after Aimen put him through. Surely, the men in yellow had learned their lesson?
They had not.
Substitutes Thoiba Moirangthem and Diego Mauricio entered the pitch in the 81st minute and changed it in the 87th. Thoiba showed that a season of training alongside Jahouh had rubbed off on him, launching a ball forward to Roy Krishna on the right wing. Daisuke Sakai and Sandeep Singh had gone to sleep and the Fijian frontman ghosted past them into the box, before squaring it across for Mauricio to tap it in. Out of nowhere, Odisha had a lifeline, an anchor to hold on to.
And then, in extra-time, Jahouh set off that fleet as Odisha turned the tide in their favour.
It's always been there, even if their form at the turn of the year had saw them slip in the title race and go out of the AFC Cup. In Bhubaneswar, in the Kalinga they remain unblemished this season, a group of warriors that thrive in home comforts. This was the second time this season they'd overturned a lead that Kerala Blasters took to win 2-1, both coming in the Kalinga. Roy Krishna had a brace of goals then, he had a pair of assists now. With Jahouh's nous, Mauricio's lethal nature, Isak's youthful brilliance married to Krishna's telling contributions, Lobera has a quartet of big-game players perfect for the pressure of the playoffs.
Up next, Lobera's men face the might of Mohun Bagan, thriving under the new version of Antonio Habas and fresh off a final-day League Shield victory. Odisha will not fear going behind against them and will always fancy their chances having beaten them in the pressure of the AFC Cup. Should they find themselves lost and facing the wrong direction, they can always be certain that their midfield maestro will steer them right, one no-look pass at a time.