Spreading the beautiful game across different regions of the country is one of the key objectives in Vision 2047, and the Federation’s plan to host the Hero Super Cup in Kerala, where both Hero ISL and Hero I-League have come together, is part of it. the-aiff.com is currently in Malappuram and Kozhikode and is following the progress of the clubs in the Hero Super Cup closely in a series of stories.

Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team

KOZHIKODE: Splendid goals can come from any part of the pitch, or rather from any player. But one man who has made it a habit of scoring wonderful goals from an unusual position is Kerala Blasters defender Nishu Kumar.

The left-back produced a fabulous effort against RoundGlass Punjab FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium on Saturday, April 8, 2023, to put his side in a comfortable position from which they won the match 3-1 in front of a boisterous bunch of fans. The 25-year-old received the ball inside the box, cut inside to dummy a defender, and curled his right footer in a way that the ball glided it’s way as it nestled into the side-netting.

This was not the first time, however, that Nishu has scored such a goal. Earlier this season, the full-back had scored against Odisha FC, a goal which can only be labelled as a carbon copy of the one netted against RoundGlass Punjab last night. The full-back has also scored a few long rangers in the past years, namely against Hyderabad FC back in his Bengaluru FC days, and also for India against Jordan, back in 2019.

“It feels great to score like that. I’ve practiced that move many times, and scored a few in similar fashion too,” Nishu told the-aiff.com. “I’ve always been trying to score like this.

“It was also a crucial point in the match, and the contest between the two teams was quite close, so that goal turned out to be very important for us at that point,” said Nishu. “I’m happy that I could be the one to provide our team with security.”

The 3-1 result puts Kerala Blasters in a commanding position in Group A, where they lead with three points to their name, followed by Bengaluru FC and Sreenidi Deccan, both of whom are on a point each.

Kerala Blasters’ opponents on Saturday night, RoundGlass Punjab, the champions of the Hero I-League, are also up for promotion to the Hero Indian Super League from the upcoming season, and gave a good account of themselves in front of a partisan crowd.

“RoundGlass Punjab are a good team with a lot of quality players in their ranks,” said Nishu. “They gave us a tough fight right till the very end, and I’m sure it was not easy for them to do so as they were playing against our home crowd.

“I could see the sea of yellow everywhere in the stands. They were cheering for the whole 90 minutes, and I am really grateful,” he said. “No matter where we go, they are always there in numbers.”The Kerala Blasters will next face off against the runners-up of the Hero I-League, Sreenidi Deccan FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium on April 12, 2023.