Kerala Blasters visited the Marina Arena with the backing of their raucous fanfare that has come to symbolize the massive travelling support the Kochi-based team generates on the road. The away stand was buoyant as the Kerala faithful filled up nearly every seat in their section draped in their traditional yellow drip, also sporting Christmas hats in a nod to the festive season.
CFC head coach Thomas Brdaric opted to start the hero of the NEUFC game Abdenasser El Khayati on the bench. Ajith Kumar was back after serving his suspension as Vafa returned to the starting eleven to take his place at the center of the defence. while Sourav Das and Vincy Baretto also made the starting lineup.
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The opening minutes of the game were filled with energetic exchanges as the teams tried to establish a foothold in the game.
Adrian Luna’s powerful free kick from way out made the Chennaiyin keeper Debjit Majumder work as he had to tip the ball over the bar. But, the travelling crowd truly came alive as one of India’s truly shining stars Sahal Abdul Samad made good on his effort as he dinked the ball over the onrushing CFC custodian to send the ball bustling into the back of the net after twenty minutes of play.
The home team attempted to it back immediately after as they launched an attack on attack in an effort to level the score. Chennaiyin’s efforts yielded a swathe of corners as the hosts tried to capitalize on the set piece.
CFC came close to equalizing with a corner swung in by full-back Akash Sangwan found Vafa in the centre of the box, but the Iranian couldn’t get over the ball as he would have liked and his header sailed over the crossbar.
Kerala Blasters almost seemed like going two ahead before the break but they couldn’t manage to convert after a siege on goal, manufactured by Uruguayan Luna on the right as the follow-up cross from Praveen missed its mark.
The fourth official signalled for two minutes of time to be added on for injuries and stoppages during the first period of the game. Vafa came up with a crucial last-ditch challenge to ensure that there was only the solitary goal separating the teams at halftime.
The second half was way off to a flying start as Vincy Baretto levelled for the home side as he found the back of the net with his follow-up effort after Kerala keeper Prabshukan Gill palmed away Rahim Ali’s powerful strike from inside the box.
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Former KBFC player and Kerala native Prashanth was taken off in favour of Rahim Ali at the halftime break and the impact Brdaric was looking for was immediate as the substitute was in the thick of things right from the offing.
The home support got louder after the equalizer as they willed on the Marina Machans to capitalize on the shift in momentum as they went looking for another to put them ahead in the game.
Chennaiyin could have had another around the 60-minute mark as some good work on the right wing lead to a low cross into the box, but there was nobody on the end of it as the Kerala custodian collected the ball without any hassle.
Abdul Samad had a sight of goal as he was found in some space on the left, but the home team got back in numbers to deal with the danger.
The home support got louder as El Khayati was spotted prepared to come on and take the place of the withdrawn Julius Duker, while Jiteshwor Singh came on to replace homeboy Edwin Sydney, who came off to a roaring ovation.
Nishu Kumar was taken off by Ivan Vukomanovic to make way for Jessel Carneiro as KBFC made their first change of the night.
Rahim Ali looked confident running down the left as he went on another darting run before playing in a low cross into the box, just ahead of the running Petar Sliskovic.
Kerala opted for a double change at the 75-minute mark as Ivan Kaliyuzhnyi and goals corer Abdul Samad made way for Apostolos Giannou and Saurav Mandal while CFC’s Baretto was swapped for Anirudh Thapa.
El Khayati demonstrated some fancy feet as Chennaiyin turned defence into attack in swift fashion. The Dutchman got the beating of two players while fending off one before playing Sliskovic upfield. The Croat opted to strike from long range as his shot went over the bar.
Kwame Karikari came on for Sliskovic after 83 minutes of play in hopes of clinching the winner in a tightly fought game in front of the 11,132 fans in attendance.
Five minutes were added on at the end of the regulation 90 and Chennaiyin almost got the best out of the stoppage time as El Khayati was given a sight of goal but a challenge by KBFC’s last defender proved crucial in keeping the scores level at 1-1.
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