NorthEast United FC 2-0 Kerala Blasters, Highlights, ISL 2023-24: NEUFC keeps playoffs hopes alive after goals from Nestor,Jithin

Goals from Nestor and Jithin keep NorthEast United FC still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Kerala Blasters FC continue its dreadful form.

A crazy couple of minutes for Jithin who is booked for a harsh swing of his arm towards Saurav Mandal’s face. He is lucky not to get a red card. 

Jithin scores to double the lead. Brilliant from Phalguni who dances around in the penalty box. He then passes the ball in for an easy tap-in for Jithin. Five minutes of added time.

Philippoteaux starts a counter-attack for NEUFC. He runs with the ball and sets up Nestor for a shot. Lara Sharma makes a great save to keep his side in the match.

NEUFC’s Samte comes off for Tondoba Singh.

Nestor scores for NorthEast United FC!!! Zabaco plays a ball over the top from his own half. Nestor receives the ball well and pushes away Drincic. He then taps the ball over the approaching keeper.

Freekick for Blasters from the right edge of the penalty area. Daisuke tries to catch the NEUFC keeper off guard and goes for goal. Gurmeet Singh makes a good save to push the ball away.

Ten minutes plus added time to go. NEUFC will need to score in order to keep its chances of making it to the playoffs alive. Phalguni fires in a good-looking ball from the right which is pushed away by the KBFC defense. The follow-up shot from Jithin is blocked by Drincic in front of goal.

Nihal Singh is replaced by debutant Korou Singh. Zabaco brings down Ishan Pandita near the half-line. The referee blows the whistle for a foul.

The referee blows the whistle for the drinks break. Still 0-0 in Guwahati. 

Sakai drives into the opponent’s box and takes a shot which goes through the legs of two defenders. An easy save for Gurmeet Singh in the end.

KBFC enjoys a good spell of possession. Rahul KP brings down Bemammer in an attempt to win the ball.

Sakai takes a shot from afar. The ball swings outward and goes past the right post. NEUFC’s Dinesh Singh comes off for Bekey oram 

Ishan Pandita drives in from the left and cuts back for Rahul KP. He takes a touch and shoots. But the ball goes wide of the post. 

Aimen and Freddy come off, Vibin Mohanan and Rahul KP comes on.

KBFC’s Mohamed Aimen is fouled by Dinesh Singh. The referee shows no hesitation in booking the NEUFC right-back.

Jithin once again finds himself in the box. He is able to take a shot but does not keep it on target. Hamza Regragui comes off and is replaced by Romain Philippoteaux.

NEUFC start strong in the second half, maintaining possession of the ball. Jithin drives into the box from the left but is stopped by a strong challenge from Danish Farooq. Appeals for a penalty is waved away by the referee.

A ball over the top for Nestor, who taps the ball over the approaching keeper. the ball misses the target and the follow-up cross from Macarton is gathered by the returning Lara Sharma.

Mohammed Aimen plays a through ball from his own half for Nihal. The referee blows the whistle for offside.

A slow start to the second half with neither side not having a clear sight on goal. 

Foul on Jithin by Saurav Mandal at the edge of the penalty area. He goes into the book. Bemammer takes the freekick and goes for pace. But the ball goes untouched by the wall, over the crossbar.

Substitutions for NEUFC. Redeem Tlang and Manvir Singh are off. Macarton and Phalguni Singh is in. NEUFC kicks off the second half, shooting from left to right.

The referee blows the whistle for half-time.

Four minutes of added time. Ishan Pandita wins the ball in his own half and runs almost the entire length of the field, past the NEUFC outfield players. However, his final touch is heavy and Gurmeet Singh gathers the ball easily. 

A card is shown to KBFC’s strength and conditioning coach on the bench for appealing a bad challenge on Pandita.

A cross in from the left from Samte is initially headed by Hamza Regragui. The ball goes up and the KBFC keeper jumps up to gather it. Manvir Singh goes for the ball as well and collides with the keeper. Freekick for KBFC.

Chance for Nihal Sudheesh. Pandita intercepts a NEUFC pass near the penalty box and plays the ball through for Nihal who stretches his leg to reach. Ends up colliding with Dinesh singh and the NEUFC keeper.

Five minutes to go and it is NEUFC who seem to be searching for the first goal. Crosses and through balls are coming in plenty, but no end result.

A good-looking cross in from the right from Redeem Tlang. But it is too far away from Nestor inside the box. The ball goes out on the other side for a throw-in.

NEUFC’s Jithin is pulled back by Danish Farooq, 35 yards out. The freekick is floated in beautifully, but Regragui’s header sails over the crossbar.

The match resumes. Chance for Pandita, who is unable to make proper contact with the ball which was crossed in from the right by Saurav Mandal.

KBFC seems to be back in control after a few chances at the other end. The referee blows the whistle for the drinks break.

Another chance for Manvir who get the ball at the edge of the box. He takes another touch and is closed down by Lara Sharma, who makes an important block. Drincic appeals for offside.

Jithin drops his shoulder and drives in from the right side. His shot is blocked and the ball falls to Manvir who was offside. The referee blows the whistle after the ball ends up in the back of the net.

A great chance for NEUFC. Nestor plays in a brilliant through ball for Manvir who skips away from Lara Sharma. The ball is cleared away before he can take another touch. The following corner is blasted above the crossbar by Jithin.

Pandita tries to capitalise on a mistake by the NEUFC keeper who takes a heavy touch after a back pass. Pandita closes him down but is unable to keep his shot on target.

Shot from Hameed Regragui goes wide after he intercepts a KBFC pass. First real sight on goal for NEUFC.

Mohammed Aimen gets into the box brilliantly from the left, dribbling through the NEUFC players. He takes the shot and forces a great save from Gurmeet Singh. Corner for KBFC

Corner for KBFC. The ball from Sakai is too high for the players in the box. Kerala keeps possession plays it back to its keeper.

Appeals for a foul from the NorthEast players. Milos Dricis makes a mess of clearing the ball away from Manvir Singh who claims to have been brought down.

Corner for NEUFC. Zabaco’s cross is headed away from target by Asheer. Good, positive start from the Highlanders.

A good-looking cross from the left from Samte. Straight into the hands of Lara Sharma who replaces Karanjit in goal.

Pandita kicks off the match for Kerala Blasters who are in its away kit, shooting from right to left.

The players are making their way into the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati. KBFC is led by Milos Drincic while NEUFC is led by Michel Zabaco.

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NEUFC is winless in its last five meetings with Kerala Blasters FC, having drawn twice and lost thrice in the process.

Played: 19

Kerala Blasters FC: 8

NorthEast United FC: 4

Draws: 7

The match will be live telecasted on the Sports18 1 Channel (TV). The game can also be live-streamed on the JioCinema app and website (online).

The game will be livestreamed on OneFootball for those watching from outside India.

Gurmeet Singh (gk), Dinesh Singh, Michel Zabaco, Asheer Akhtar, Buanthanglun Samte, Hamza Regragui, Mohammed Ali Bemammer, Jithin MS, Nestor Albiach, Redeem Tlang, Manvir Singh

Lara Sharma (gk), Saurav Mandal, Pritam Kotal, Milos Drincic, Mohammed Azhar, Daisuke Sakai, Danish Farooq, Freddy Lallawmawma, Mohammed Aimen, Ishan Pandita, Nihal Sudheesh

Kerala Blasters FC will take on NorthEast United FC on April 6, at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, hoping to regain momentum before the final leg of the season commences, having already qualified for the playoffs.

The Yellow Army had a stellar first half of the campaign that put it in a strong position to finish in the top six. Head coach Ivan Vukomanovic has now taken the club into the playoffs in all three seasons that he has been at the helm.

With three losses and a draw in its last five matches, it has dropped 11 points out of a possible 15. It lost to East Bengal FC by 4-2 in Kochi in its previous encounter. On the other hand, the Highlanders is in the penultimate spot with 20 points but still has nine of them to play for in the remaining three games.