Chennaiyin holds Kerala to 1-1 draw

CHENNAI: A tightly contested 1-1 draw between Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC spelt the end of the latter’s five-match winning streak in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Monday.

Sahal Abdul Samad had put Blasters in front in the first half before Vincy Barreto returned to score against his former club with an equaliser in the second period.

Despite playing a part in five of the seven goals against NorthEast United FC last week, Nasser El Khayati was benched as Sourav Das came into the starting XI.

The vacant foreigner spot was taken by Vafa Hakhamaneshi as Gurmukh Singh dropped to the bench. The other two changes saw Ajith Kumar and Barretto coming in to replace Mohammed Rafique and Rahim Ali.

Inside a minute, Adrian Luna tried to lift a free-kick over the keeper from the left flank, but it was palmed over the bar by Debjit Majumder. Luna replicated the shot he attempted in the first minute from a long-range free-kick.

This time, a dipping and swerving effort came straight at the keeper from the central part of the pitch before it was palmed over the bar again in the 21st minute.

Midway through the first half, Ivan Kaliuzhnyi spotted Sahal’s run and played a sublime through ball into the path of the winger. Debjit came off his line in an effort to close the angle for Sahal, but the 25-year-old cleverly dinked it over the charging keeper to score his third goal of the season.

In the 27th minute, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul curled a promising cross into the box from the left flank and Julius Duker was set to score before Nishu Kumar’s crucial intercepting header put the ball out for a corner.

Three minutes into the second half, half-time substitute Ali was picked out in the box by an inch-perfect ball from Edwin. The striker’s first-time volley was parried straight into the path of Baretto by Prabhsukhan Gill. From close range, the midfielder smashed it home against his former club.

In the 81st minute, substitute El Khayati shrugged off his marker in midfield and slid a ball through to Petar Sliskovic down the right flank. As Anirudh Thapa darted inside the box, Sliskovic scuffed his cross, and the ball went out for a goal-kick. That signaled the end of any major attacking moves from either team in the final few minutes of the game.

Result: Chennaiyin FC 1 (V Barretto 48) drew with Kerala Blasters FC 1 (S Samad 23)