ISL 2023-24: Diamantakos helps Blasters bounce back from the brink, hold Chennaiyin 3-3

Blasters’ Diamantakos and Chennaiyin’s Jordan Murray score two goals each in a six-goal thriller.

Published : Nov 29, 2023 22:28 IST , KOCHI - 2 MINS READ

With centre-back Milos Drincic scoring the match-winner and almost producing another in the last game, there was a comment in Tuesday’s pre-match media conference here on how a defender was winning a match for Kerala Blasters. Hearing this, head coach Ivan Vukomanovic joked that perhaps the team’s Greek striker Diamantakos Dimitrios should be sent to defend.

One is not sure whether Dimitrios heard that but he pulled out the home side from the deep end with two goals on Wednesday night as Blasters overcame a 1-3 deficit to hold Chennaiyin FC 3-3 in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Nehru Stadium here.

READ | Two and half years more of suffering and frustration, says Vukomanovic on the wait for VAR

Chennaiyin managed do something no other team could do this season, it silenced the packed oval with a goal from Rahim Ali in the opening minute and forced the host to keep the volume on mute for nearly the first half hour by adding two more goals through Australian forward Jordan Murray by the 24 th.

But Dimitrios, who had helped Blasters equalise at 1-1 earlier by scoring off a penalty after Kwame Peprah was brought down, came with an impressive strike by the hour mark, a powerful shot from outside the box. In between, the Blasters’ Ghanaian forward Peprah scored his first goal of the season with a beauty, finding the right top corner after Adrian Luna had set things up for him. Both the sides came up with some promising attempts after that but could not find the match-winner.

The result: Kerala Blasters 3 (Diamantakos 11-p & 59, Kwame Peprah 38) drew with Chennaiyin FC 3 (Rahim Ali 1, Jordan Murray 13-p & 24).

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