Kochi, March 1: Ten-man NorthEast United FC stood firm and stayed resilient to play out a goalless draw and deny Kerala Blasters FC a chance to end their Indian Super League campaign with a win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday (March 1).
Having already secured a spot in the playoff, NorthEast confirmed the fourth place in the standings with 29 points from 18 games and will now face Bengaluru FC in the semi-final. FC Goa will face Mumbai City FC in the other semi-final.
Blasters ended their league season in the ninth spot with just two wins and 15 points after 18 matches.
After a tentative first few minutes, a powerful shot from Courage Pekuson got Kerala going. Twelve minutes into the game, Matej Poplatnik dribbled forward down the left and chipped the ball to Pekuson at the edge of the box. The Ghanaian midfielder chested it down before hitting a fine volley that flew inches wide.
A 10-men @NEUtdFC managed to hold a dominant @KeralaBlasters at bay to ensure they enter the semi-finals with a positive mindset.
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) March 1, 2019
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Lalthathanga Khawlhring gave a 'Hero of the Match' performance for @NEUtdFC, constantly manning the midfield and aiding both defence and attack. #KERNEU #HeroISL #LetsFootball #FanBannaPadega pic.twitter.com/VwG4lpoBqI
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) March 1, 2019
Despite the numerical disadvantage, NorthEast had the Blasters defence in a spot of bother early on after the break. Panagiotis Triadis crossed from the left and found Lalrempuia Fanai inside the box whose shot was kept out by a diving Dheeraj Singh. The forward latched on to the ball on the rebound but Anas Edathodika got in the way to make the block.
.@KeralaBlasters were clearly the more dominant side in #KERNEU, but @NEUtdFC managed to hold onto the hosts even with a man down.
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) March 1, 2019
#HeroISL #LetsFootball #FanBannaPadega pic.twitter.com/yOEdoNdUlY
The goalkeeper was called into action again in the 69th minute when a Stojanovic shot took a deflection off Shouvik Ghosh and swerved in towards the goal. A fantastic finger-tip save by Pawan helped the ball onto the crossbar.
Source: ISL Media