ISL: Odisha, Kerala play out entertaining draw - Talking points

Odisha and Kerala Blasters played out an entertaining 4-4 draw in the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday as the two sides ended their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign.

Published : Feb 24, 2020 15:06 IST

Kerala Blasters came from behind to seal a 4-4 draw against Odisha.
Kerala Blasters came from behind to seal a 4-4 draw against Odisha.
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Kerala Blasters came from behind to seal a 4-4 draw against Odisha.

In their final game of the Indian Super League (ISL), Odisha and Kerala Blasters played out a thrilling 4-4 draw.

Manuel Onwu scored a hat-trick for the host while Bartholomew Ogbeche netted twice.

Odisha ended its league stage campaign with 25 points on the sixth spot, while Kerala Blasters finished seventh with 19 points in its kitty.

Here are the major talking points:

1) Bartholomew Ogbeche leads Golden Boot race

With his dual strikes against Odisha, Ogbeche raced to the top of the Golden Boot list with 15 goals to his name. The Kerala Blasters striker, however, will not have the chance to improve his goal tally as Kerala Blasters' ISL campaign has come to an end.

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Behind Ogbeche are Ferran Corominas (FC Goa) and Roy Krishna (ATK), both tied at 14, followed by Nerijus Valskis (Chennaiyin FC) with 13 goals. Coro, Krishna and Valskis are all through to the semifinal of the tournament, unlike Ogbeche.

2) Goals galore at Kalinga

There were eight goals scored on Sunday as Odisha and Kerala put up an entertaining display. The 4-4 draw was the second-biggest score-line of the season, with Kerala's 3-6 loss to Chennaiyin on February 1 being the highest-scoring fixture of this season. Goa's 5-2 win over Mumbai City on Feb 12 stands third in the list of matches with most goals.

3) Odisha move proves fruitful for Onwu

Manuel Onwu finished with seven ISL goals, all scored during his time at Odisha, whom he joined in January on a loan deal from Bengaluru.

Onwu failed to find the net in over 370 minutes for the Blues but scored as many as seven in 360 minutes under Josep Gombau.

Match highlights | Odisha vs Keral Blasters

The Spaniard ended as the second-highest goal scorer for Odisha, only behind Aridane Santana (9 goals). Onwu was signed as a replacement after Santana was released by the club.

It is safe to say Onwu did his bit at Odisha, which finished sixth.

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