Welcome to Sportstar's ISL blog of the match between Kerala Blasters FC and NorthEast United FC at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim.
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Talking post the game, NorthEast United FC coach Gerard Nus said : "I just think right now... I have only word and excuse me for my language - I am f****** proud of this team. I don't mind the result. I don't mind if we win or lose or draw, I am proud of this team.
We created more chances than them and we deserved much more, but as I said, I am happy about the fighting spirit and that we never gave up. We showed determination to come back in the game. We kept going and I am so happy about the performance. Now we need to think about recovery and go ahead."
MATCH REPORT|
Kerala Blasters manager Kibu Vicuna said he was didappointed. "We are disappointed because we played a good first half but the second half was...especially after conceding the first goal, we didn't play as well. We are disappointed because we were close to three points and could not get it."
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NorthEast United FC came back from two goals down to earn a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Kerala Blasters in their ISL 2020-21 clash today. Blasters, the designated home side, rode on Sergio Cidoncha and Gary Hooper's first half strikes go up 2-0.
Gerard Nus' men pegged one back through Kwesi Appiah in the 55th minute, while Idrissa Sylla scored in added time to ensure the Highlanders claimed a point.
FULL TIME: Kerala Blasters 2 - 2 NorthEast United FC
90+5' Blasters win a late free-kick that is floated in by Seityasen, but nothing comes off it.
90+4' Late corner for NorthEast United here! Could we have a winner here? Nope, no chances made here.
90+3' Britto goes for spectacular but his strike sails into the empty stands.
90+1' Replays show that Sylla was a tad offside...but NorthEast United will take the goal.
90' GOAAAAAAAAL! Sylla equalises for NorthEast United FC! Gurjinder's lob finds Sylla in the box and he does oh-so-well to chest the ball down and unleash a ferocious strike. Five minutes of added time to be played and NorthEast United FC is back in this game!
89' Fine chance for NorthEast! Machado's cross finds an unmarked Britto in the box but his first touch lets him down.
85' NorthEast United throwing men ahead here as one lob after another is floated down the pitch, but to no avail yet.
83' Sylla with a decent header as he connects well with a long ball, but he fails to trouble the Blasters 'keeper.
81' Yet another change here as Jordan Murray takes Gary Hooper's place on the pitch.
77' That's shabby. Ashutosh Mehta gives the ball away cheaply with a fowl throw-in.
77' Change for NorthEast United FC - Meetei is replaced by Lalrempuia Fanai.
75' We're into the last quarter of play and Kerala Blasters is holding on to its slender one-goal lead. Can NorthEast find its way back into this game?
72' Gerard Nus finally manages to make the substitutions as Idrissa Sylla and Luis Machado come on for Kwesi Appiah and Federico Gallego. And this happens right before a Kerala Blasters free-kick.
71' Poor refereeing here once again. Both sides wanted to make substitutions but the referee signalled play to resume right after Blasters made their change! Poor communication here between the referee and the fourth official. Jeakson Singh and Facundo Pereyra replace Rohit Kumar and Sergio Cidoncha respectively.
67' Penalty missed! Appiah steps up to take the spot-kick but his strike goes off the crossbar. What a chance that was for NorthEast to restore parity!
66' PENALTY! Jessel Carneiro fouls Lalengmawia in the box and he referee makes up for his previous mistake by awarding NorthEast United a penalty this time around.
64' Change for Kerala Blasters - Prasanth Karuthadathkuni comes on for Lalthathanga Khawlhring.
63' How was that not a penalty? Gallego tries to head the ball in the box and Costa strikes him on the head while attempting an overhead kick. But the ref sees no foul.
61' The referee seems to be losing control of the game here....he's been awarding far too many free-kicks for seeming harmless fouls.
59' The corner, which was re-taken, is wasted by NorthEast as the referee blows the whistle for off-the-ball pushing and shoving in the box.
57' Britto shoots from distance and forces Albino to make a diving save. Corner to NorthEast!
52' The Blasters defence is caught napping as a corner from the left simply floats across goal. Appiah was the first to react at the far post as he tried to shoulder nudge the ball in his first attempt but could not get past Hooper. The Ghanaian bundled the ball home in the second attempt.
51' Appiah strikes for NorthEast United! Appiah shows excellent reflexes to poke the ball into the net and bring his side back into the game. Blasters leads 2-1.
49' Seityasen is shown a yellow card for time-wasting.
46' KICK-OFF! And the second half gets underway. NorthEast United coach Gerard Nus makes his first change of the evening as Britto comes on for Rakesh Pradhan.
Kerala Blasters heads into the interval with a comfortable 2-0 lead over NorthEast United. Blasters captain Sergio Cidoncha gave his side the perfect start by scoring in the fifth minute, while Gary Hooper struck from the spot to double the side's lead.
NorthEast United had its share of chances, but its conversion has been poor so far.
45+2' Lambot misses! The corner-kick from the left lands perfectly for him but the NorthEast United captain's strike zooms into the stands. And that brings us to the end of the opening 45.
45+2' Costa does extremely well to deny Appiah a shot here. Pradhan plays a teasing cross and all Appiah had to do was side-foot it, but Costa made a wonderful sliding tackle to clear the danger.
45+1' Hooper scores for Blasters! He shoots it straight down the middle and the 'keeper gets a foot to it, but can't keep it out. Blasters lead 2-0 going into the interval!
45' PENALTY! Pradhan brings Puitea down in the box and its a penalty to Kerala Blasters! Fox made two excellent blocks on the goal-line but his second clearance found Puitea, who was fouled by Pradhan.
40' We're nearing the end of the opening half and Gallego's NorthEast United is yet to register a shot on target. The side had looked threatening and the better of the two sides over the last 10 minutes, but the finishing has been poor.
37' Rohit Kumar picks up a yellow card for a high boot challenge on Puitea.
36' Chance for Fox! Gallego crafts a delicious swinging cross that just needed a touch in the goal-mouth, but Fox can't get to it.
35' Camara does well to pick up Costa's poor pass and lets one rip from distance. The shot is deflected NorthEast has a corner.
33' Rakesh Pradhan gets into a body block battle with Costa Nhamoinesu, and to anyone's guess, is of no match. Costa looks massive beside Pradhan.
30' Fantastic chance for NorthEast United! Gallego threads a fine through ball for Ashutosh, who gets off a strong shot but can't find the target.
27' Nishu Kumar, sporting a very interesting hairdo today, has been very good so far. Possibly the busiest player on the pitch!
24' Hooper misses a sitter! The Englishman latches on to Camara's poor back pass and plays it to Cidoncha on the left. The Blasters skipper squares it for Hooper, but he skies his attempt from less than six yards out. That's a strong contender for the miss of the season!
21' Well done by Fox there. Puitea wriggles past his man to craft a decent lob towards Hooper, but Fox is alert to clear the danger.
19' Gallego struggling for service and support so far...he's not had an impact on this game just yet and hasn't seen much of the ball.
14' Good movement here from Cidoncha as he dribbles his way into the box and tries to square it for Hooper, but the Blasters defence is up to the task.
12' Blasters has seen more of the ball so far, but the game is yet to fully get going. Too many silly fouls all around the pitch.
7' Credit to Cidoncha for that brilliant goal, but Ashutosh Mehta ought to have done better there. He left Cidoncha completely unmarked, allowing him a free header.
5' GOAAAAL! Cidoncha scores a terrific header to put Kerala Blasters ahead. Kerala Blasters is off to a cracking start here as Seityasen curls a free-kick into the box and Cidoncha converts with a fantastic looping header. The NEUFC 'keeper had no chance there.
3' First move of the game. Gallego floats a curling free-kick into the box towards Dylan Fox, but the latter can't get to the ball.
1' KICK-OFF! The players observe two minutes of silence to honour Diego Maradona, who passed away yesterday after suffering a cardiac arrest.
7:30pm: Right before kick-off, we have to ask you this - Who do you think is going to come out on top this evening? Have your say here:
7:28pm: The players are out on the pitch and the national anthem has been played. Two minutes to kick-off!
7:20pm: In the 12 times they have faced each other, NorthEast has never scored more than two goals against Kerala Blasters. Can Kwesi Appiah change that trend today?
7:10pm: What do you think the two coaches are talking about here? Perhaps something to do with the humid conditions in Goa...
7pm: Both teams have opted to use their full quota of five overseas player in the playing XI. Here's all you need to know about both teams' foreigners - |
6:50pm: Speaking of Nishu, the 23-year-old signed a four-year deal with Kerala Blasters to become one of the top-paid defenders in the country.
6:40pm: Nishu Kumar, who moved to Kerala Blasters from Bengaluru FC this season, makes his debut for the club along with Rohit Kumar. Sahal Abdul Samad isn't in today's squad list. Federico Gallego will be making his first start of the season for NorthEast United FC.
6:35pm: LINE UPS!
KBFC XI : Albino Gomes (GK), Bakary Kone, Nishu Kumar, Jessel Carneiro, Costa Nhamoinesu, Sergio Cidoncha (C), Vicente Gomez, Seityasen Singh, Rohit Kumar, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Gary Hooper
NEUFC XI : Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (GK), Gurjinder Kumar, Rakesh Pradhan, Benjamin Lambot (C), Dylan Fox, Ashutosh Mehta, Khassa Camara, Lalengmawia, Federico Gallego , Kwesi Appiah, Ninthoinganba Meetei
6:20pm: We'll witness the ISL's first-ever Kolkata derby when ATK Mohun Bagan and SC East Bengal clash tomorrow. However, ATKMB will miss the services of winger Michael Soosairaj. More on that here -
6:10pm: KBFC and NEUFC have clashed in the ISL on 12 occasions, with the Blasters winning five of those matches. Here's the complete H2H record between these two teams -
6pm : Kerala Blasters had plenty of problems in the final third in its opener against ATK Mohun Bagan but coach Kibu Vicuna sees the clash match against NorthEast United as a new opportunity - MATCH PREVIEW :
Kerala Blasters will look for its first points of the season when it takes on NorthEast United in the Indian Super League (ISL 2020) today.
Kibu Vicuna's Kerala Blasters comes into the tie after losing its opening game 1-0 to ATK Mohun Bagan, while NorthEast beat Mumbai City FC 1-0.
Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 here.
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Here is Sportstar's predicted XI for today's clash -
Kerala Blasters predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Abino Gomes; Nishu Kumar, Costa Nhamoinesu, Bakary Kone, Jessel Carneiro; Sergio Cidoncha, Vicente Gomez; Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Sahal Abdul Samad, Nangdomba Naorem; Gary Hooper
NorthEast United FC predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury; Ashutosh Mehta, Benjamin Lambot, Dylan Fox, Gurjinder Kumar; Lalengmawia, Khassa Camara; Ninthoinganba Meetei, Fanai Lalrempuia, Luis Machado; Kwesi Appiah
We have got you covered for your fantasy Kerala Blasters-NEUFC combined XI. Captaincy pick: Kwesi Appiah
Combined KBFC-NEUFC XI
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (NEUFC); Ashutosh Mehta (NEUFC), Benjamin Lambot (NEUFC), Costa Nhamoinesu (KBFC), Jessel Carneiro (KBFC); Khassa Camara (NEUFC), Lalengmawia (NEUFC), Ninthoinganba Meetei (NEUFC), Sahal Abdul Samad (KBFC), Gary Hooper (KBFC), Kwesi Appiah(NEUFC)
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The Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) will mark the return of major league competition in India after the nationwide lockdown to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak was first imposed in March.
The seventh edition of the ISL got underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa on November 20.
The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a league and playoff format across three venues. Following SC East Bengal's inclusion, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.
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