Goa : A 10-man Kerala Blasters FC jumped to second spot in the points table of the Indian Super League (ISL). A spirited performance mocked down wooden spooners NorthEast United FC 2-1 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco.
The first chance of the game fell to NorthEast United. Suhair Vadakkepeedika missed a golden opportunity to provide an early lead. Vadakkepeedika worked hard to evade his marker from a Joe Zoherliana cross.
Marcelinho teased with crosses for Suhair. He delivered a crisp corner for Pragyan Gogoi, smash the ball over the bar. Hernan Santana and Marcelinho linked up well for NorthEast United. However, they lacked finishing. Santana burst through the right to square the ball for Marcelinho over an effort.
Kerala got their first real chance three minutes from the break. Adrian Luna put in a perfect ball for Jeakson Singh who headed overthe bars.
Second half started with Kerala blasters on the front foot. Alvaro Vazquez spotted Subhashish Roy Chowdhury out of his line. He tried his luck from 40 yards out but missed the target. Kerala Blasters got back into the game with goals from Jorge Pereyra Díaz and Alvaro Vazquez.
Diaz was left unmarked in the 62nd minute. The Argentine made no mistake with the header from Harmanjot Khabra, nodding it past Subhashish Roy Choudhary. Kerala suffered a setback in 70th miniute. Ayush Adhikari was sent off after seeing a second yellow card.
🔟-man @KeralaBlasters produced a spirited second-half performance to see off @NEUtdFC, and move to the second spot on the table! 💪
Catch the best moments from #KBFCNEU, ICYMI! 📹#ISLRecap #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/XPnT81aZGG
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) February 4, 2022
NorthEast United replaced Marco Sahanek with Deshorn Brown. Kerala went 2-0 up and added to Highlanders’ plight. A stunner from Alvaro Vazquez, and NorthEast United’s miseryextended further. Vazquez scored the sensational goal by getting the ball close to the half-line. The Spanish spotted Roy Choudhury off his line, and send a curling effort that nestled into the net.
Irshad pulled one back in stoppage time from Santana. He shot the ball with power from just outside the box but his brilliant effort went in vain.
NorthEast United succumbed to their second straight defeat. Khalid Jamil’s side remained on 10 points from 16 games. Kerala now have 23 points from 13 outings.
