ISL 2020-21 highlights: SC East Bengal, Kerala Blasters FC play out 1-1 draw

ISL 2020-21, SCEB vs KBFC Updates: Get the Indian Super League score updates and commentary from the game between SC East Bengal and Kerala Blasters FC at Tilak Maidan.

Published : Jan 15, 2021 17:33 IST

Scott Neville celebrates his equalising goal for SC East Bengal against Kerala Blasters FC in the 2020-21 ISL in Goa on Friday.

This is Sportstar's match blog/highlights of the ISL 2020-21 game between SC East Bengal and Kerala Blasters FC in Goa on Friday.

That is all we have for today. Tomorrow, Mumbai City FC will take on Hyderabad FC. [ MATCH PREVIEW ] Until then, good night!.

MATCH REPORT |

SC East Bengal forward Bright Enobakhare takes home the 'Winning Pass of the Game' award, while Kerala Blasters FC's Indian star Sahal Abdul Samad wins the 'Player of the Match' honour.

SCEB manager Robbie Fowler: To get an equaliser that late in the game was a nice feeling. But we weren't up to the mark. The goal we conceded was a silly one. Don't know if it was an offside. However, it's great to be on an unbeaten run, and we need more wins now. Harmanpreet Singh played well. He was unlucky not get a goal. I think even Aaron (Amadi-Holloway) had a great chance to equalise in the end. But he hit it wide. I'm glad that we got a point tonight. We want to play free-flowing football with quick touches. We have a lot of catching up to do if we still want to make it to the playoffs. We need to minimise our errors and play extra aggressive.

RELATED |

KBFC head coach Kibu Vicuna: It was similar to the other game against SC East Bengal this season. We conceded late back then as well. The set-piece given away at the end was poor. We should reacted better while defending it. They (SCEB) didn't have many chances. Unfortunately, we lost two points. We are trying to improve results. We've mostly played from behind this tournament. So, we tried to create more chances than the opponent this time around and we succeeded. We started the game with long balls and the team was much more confortable. All of the players tried to be positive and dominate possession. It's sad that we couldn't win.

Post-match reaction from both the camps coming up next.....

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

Kerala Blasters FC has just thrown away two points with some poor defending towards the very end. Scott Neville finally opened his account for SC East Bengal in second half stoppage time to hand his team a lifeline.

READ |

KBFC took the lead in the 64th minute through Jordan Murray after the forward received an assist from an unlikely source -- his goalkeeper Albino Gomes. Kerala almost grabbed the win but East Bengal had other ideas.

Both teams had several chances to score goals throughout the game. But only two went in as the clash ends 1-1. SCEB boss Robbie Fowler will be a relieved man, but his KBFC counterpart Kibu Vicuna will be disappointed.  

Podcast: From Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan's dominance to Carles Cuadrat's sacking at Bengaluru FC, our reporters Aashin Prasad and Shyam Vasudevan talk all things ISL in our latest episode of the Full Time Show.

AND IT'S FULL-TIME! FINAL SCORE: SC EAST BENGAL 1 - 1 KERALA BLASTERS FC!!!

90+4' GOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! SCOTT NEVILLE SCORES THE EQUALISER!!! EAST BENGAL 1 - 1 KERALA BLASTERS!!!! Bright Enobakhare took a corner for SCEB in the final minute of the match and the KBFC defence was extremely poor in tackling it. Scott Neville easily went past a few players and headed the ball past Albino Gomes to seal a point for his side.

90' Five minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the second half! Lalthathanga Khawlhring takes a set-piece for KBFC now. He sends the ball towards Rohit Kumar who shoots it wide off the post.

87' WHAT A CHANCE! SC East Bengal should have equalised here. Ajay Chhetri took a free-kick for SCEB. His cross into the box goes towards the unmarked Aaron Amadi-Holloway. But the East Bengal attacker decides to shoot with his foot rather than his head, and misses the target.

84' TRIPLE SCEB SUBSTITUTION! Mohammed Rafique, Aaron Amadi-Holloway and Surchandra Singh come in for Harmanpreet Singh, Daniel Fox and Ankit Mukherjee. This could be the final throw of the dice for head coach Robbie Fowler.

81' KERALA CHANGE! Defensive midfielder Rohit Kumar replaces Kerala Blasters FC forward Sahal Abdul Samad in the middle. Manager Kibu Vicuna has turned ultra-defensive here.

78' CHANCE! Bright Enobakhare receives the ball just outside the box. He tries to chip the ball towards a teammate but KBFC centre-back Sandeep Singh heads the ball away to safety.

76' AND IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL DRINKS BREAK OF THE MATCH!

73' THROW-IN FOR KBFC! Sahal Abdul Samad receives a long ball from the other half. He tries to control it on the left flank. But SCEB defender Scott Neville puts in a timely sliding tackle to clear the ball away.

70' SCEB CHANGE! Matti Steinmann makes way for Anthony Pilkington on the field. Twenty minutes to go, and it's now or never for SC East Bengal.

67' SUBSTITUTION! Spaniard Juande finally gets to play for Kerala Blasters FC. He comes in for KBFC captain Jessel Carneiro in the middle.

64' GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!! JORDAN MURRAY SCORES!!!!! KERALA BLASTERS 1 - 0 EAST BENGAL!!!! This was a direct pass from KBFC keeper Abbino Gomes to his striker. Murray beat the SCEB centre-back trio with a short sprint and took the ball forward. Despite Rana Gharami's tackle from behind, Murray is able to find the back of the net with a neat finish.

62' CHANGE! Kerala Blasters head coach Kibu Vicuna decides to bring in Lalthathanga Khawlhring to replace Facundo Pereyra on the field.

60' CROSS! Vicente Gomez passes the ball to Jessel Carneiro on the left wing. The KBFC skipper takes the ball forward with pace. But his cross into the box is directly collected by SCEB keeper Debjit Majumder.

57' SC East Bengal has dominated the possession so far, however, Kerala Blasters FC has created the better chances in the final third. No goals to show yet.

54' VERY CLOSE! Gary Hooper should have made it 1-0 for Kerala Blasters here. He received the ball from a Jessel Carneiro throw-in and had a shot from just outside the box but it misses the target by a whisker. There was no one marking Hooper, and he should have done better.

51' CHANCE! This is a decent chance for East Bengal. Jacques Maghoma gets the ball in midfield, begins to run forward, dribbles past an opposition player and gets into the box. But the angle was very narrow as his shot goes out of play.

48' SCEB CHANGE! SC East Bengal manager Robbie Fowler makes a change straightaway. He brings in Ajay Chhetri to replace Milan Singh in the middle.

THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!

Forty-five minutes to go. Stay Tuned.

Bright Enobakhare has looked rusty for SC East Bengal during the first half against Kerala Blasters FC in the ISL tonight.
 

Both SC East Bengal (SCEB) and Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) have been unable to break the deadlock so far, despite having multiple scoring opportunities.

AND IT'S HALF-TIME! SCORE: SC EAST BENGAL 0 - 0 KERALA BLASTERS FC!!!

45' Two minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half! Kerala wins a corner and Pereyra takes it as usual. Costa Nhamoinesu gets to the ball but his header is blocked inside the box by an East Bengal defender.

42' CLOSE! Scott Neville comes up with a good run on the right flank. He eases past a KBFC player using his strength. But his final pass towards his teammate Jacques Maghoma is a poor one.

39' CHANCE FOR SCEB! Bright Enobakhare takes the ball forward. He evades a few opposition players and gets close to the box. However, Nishu Kumar puts in a brilliant sliding tackle to clear the ball away.

36' FREE-KICK FOR KBFC! Sahal Abdul Samad will take it. He goes for a short pass. Facundo Pereyra receives the ball just outside the box and has a go at goal. But his shot goes way over the bar.

34' YELLOW CARD! This is the first one for a SCEB player this game. Milan Singh brings down Jordan Murray and is immediately booked by the referee.

31' AND IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST HALF COOLING BREAK!

29' INJURY! Sandeep Singh (Kerala) and Milan Singh (East Bengal) jump high and try to win the ball. But they collide with each other. Sandeep is still down on the ground and he receives treatment. Fortunately for the Blasters, he is fine to continue.

26' SHOT! SCEB forward Bright Enobakhare rushes forward with pace. He is fouled from behind but continues to move in the direction of the goal. The referee plays advantage and Bright lets one fly from long. But he misses the target by quite a bit.

23' FREE-KICK FOR KBFC! Facundo Pereyra will take the set-piece. His cross into the box is cleared by the SCEB defence. But the rebound falls for Nishu Kumar who takes a shot from just outside the box. The ball goes out of play and East Bengal regains possession.

20' There's been a change in the game's  scenario now. SC East Bengal has dominated the passing and attacking stats in the last 10 minutes, with some dangerous moves forward.

18' CHANCE! KBFC's Facundo Pereyra crosses the ball into the box during a corner Gary Hooper gets to it. He heads the ball across from the far post. However, Vicente Gomez's final header goes out of play.

15' BLOCK! This was another East Bengal chance. Ankit Mukherjee makes a good move on the right flank. Bright Enobakhare is at the end of the cross into the middle. But Costa Nhamoinesu makes a brilliant block for the Blasters.

12' GOOD SAVE! First real chance for SCEB tonight. KBFC goalkeeper Albino Gomes denies East Bengal forward Harmanpreet Singh with a good dive to his left.

9' Kerala Blasters FC is pressing high here. The SC East Bengal defence is panicking already. Jordan Murray is continuing his good form from the last game against Jamshedpur FC.

6' WHAT A TACKLE! Kerala forward Sahal Abdul Samad got into the box and took a shot. But East Bengal's Gharami put in a brilliant sliding tackle to avert the danger for his side.

4' YELLOW CARD! KBFC midfielder Jeakson Singh goes into the referee's book for his tackle on SCEB forward Bright Enobakhare. It's his third booking of the season.

2' TEAM UPDATE! Rana Gharami has replaced Raju Gaikwad in the SC East Bengal lineup against Kerala Blasters FC after he picked up an injury during pre-match training.

7:30 PM: AND THE MATCH BEGINS!

7:20 PM: Spanish defensive midfielder Juande has played for La Liga club Real Betis in the past. The 34-year-old could make his debut for KBFC as a substitute against SCEB tonight.

New signing Juande has been named on the bench for Kerala Blasters FC against SC East Bengal on Friday.
 

7:10 PM: As SC East Bengal takes on Kerala Blasters FC in match 59 of the 2020-21 ISL, here are a few important stats, players to watch out for and head-to-head record from the fixture.

 

7:00 PM: Can SC East Bengal extend its five-match winning streak in the 2020-21 ISL season with a favourable result against Kerala Blasters FC?

Matti Steinmann and Bright Enobakhare of SC East Bengal are the joint winners of the 'Fans Goal of the Week' award for their goals against Bengaluru FC and FC Goa, respectively.
 

6:45 PM: SC East Bengal is unchanged for tonight's encounter, while Kerala Blasters FC has brought in Nishu Kumar for Lalruatthara.

6:30 PM: The team lineups are out!

SCEB XI: Debjit Majumder, Narayan Das, Raju Gaikwad, Ankit Mukherjee, Daniel Fox, Scott Neville, Matti Steinmann, Jacques Maghoma, Milan Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Bright Enobakhare.

COACH: Robbie Fowler.

KBFC XI: Albino Gomes, Costa Nhamoinesu, Jessel Carneiro, Nishu Kumar, Sandeep Singh, Vicente Gomez, Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Jordan Murray, Facundo Pereyra, Gary Hooper.

COACH: Kibu Vicuna.

6:15 PM: Mumbai City FC striker Adam le Fondre speaks about his impression of the ISL, what prompted him to make the move to Mumbai City FC, competition with Bartholomew Ogbeche and more. ( READ )

6:00 PM: Podcast - From Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan's dominance to Carles Cuadrat's sacking at Bengaluru FC, our reporters Aashin Prasad and Shyam Vasudevan talk all things ISL in our latest episode of the Full Time Show.

Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 .

The seventh edition of the Indian Super League 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 the inclusion of SC East Bengal, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.

ISL 2020: Points Table

MATCH PREVIEW:

A win can do wonders. After a victory over the highly-rated Jamshedpur FC in its last game four days ago, Kerala Blasters will be a confident lot when it takes on SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan on Friday.

Head coach Kibu Vicuna opted for two strikers against Jamshedpur and the move clicked with the attack looking confident. So, will Vicuna continue with that?

“Every game is different, every team we are going to play is different with a different structure and shape. We are looking at the players we have, the team we have and the structure in which we are more confident and try to put the best team possible on the field,” said the Spaniard.

READ |

The last time Blasters played East Bengal, on December 20, the two finished 1-1 but now with the two sitting near the bottom (EB 9, Blasters 10) in the 11-team table, they will be desperate for a victory. East Bengal also had a victory, over Bengaluru FC, in its previous game so the match is building up as a tight contest.

Vicuna was not his usual self against Jamshedpur. He looked more animated than ever before and there could be a reason to it. It could all be about mind games.

“I think some days, you are more excited, more in, it also depends on how the other bench is,” he said.

“If the other bench is talking too much, you have to even the force in the benches. It is very important to be aggressive on the field. We are playing not just on the field but off the field too. But it's important that the team performs well, not what we are doing on the bench. It was good that we won the match.”

ISL 2020 will be televised live at 7.30 pm IST on Star Sports and live streamed on Disney+Hotstar and Jio TV.