Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC renew hostilities at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday in what is set to be the latest chapter of the south Indian derby in the Hero Indian Super League. Matches between these two sides over the past two seasons have generally been breath-taking with plenty of drama and goals. Saturday’s encounter, which will be the first south Indian derby of Hero Indian Super League 2016, is expected to be no different. These two southern heavyweights have met six times over the course of the last two seasons and have been on opposite ends of the pendulum of success during that time.Proven contenders with great pedigree, Kerala finished runners-up in Hero ISL 2014 knocking Chennaiyin out at semi-final stage along the way, while the Super Machans got over the ignominy of their semis exit at the hands of the Blasters by lifting the trophy the next year. Here we look back at the pulsating encounters between these two southern powerhouses in the past.Chennaiyin FC 2 Kerala Blasters FC 1The first ever meeting between the two teams went Chennai’s way. Their marquee player for the first two editions of the league, Elano gave the Super Machans the lead from the spot in the 14th minute. Iain Hume equalised for Kerala four minutes into the second period, however, Bernard Mendy came up with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 63rd minute to send the home support into a frenzy and settle the tie in favour of Chennai.Kerala Blasters FC 0 Chennaiyin FC 1Their second encounter of the first season was a tense affair as Kerala looked to keep intact their record of not losing a single home game in the lead-up to this game. Bruno Pelissari though had other ideas, and after coming off the bench in the 73rd minute, he scored the solitary goal of the game three minutes from full-time and bagged maximum points against the men in yellow again.Kerala Blasters FC 3 Chennaiyin FC 0Pitted against each other in the semis stage, Kerala avenged their two previous defeats during the league stage in emphatic fashion by producing a masterclass to turn over favourites Chennai in Kochi. Ishfaq Ahmed opened the scoring in the 27th minute for the Blasters before Iain Hume doubled their lead two minutes later. A Sushanth Matthew screamer in the last minute of normal time gave Chennai a mountain to climb in the second leg.Chennaiyin FC 3 Kerala Blasters FC 1Looking to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg, Chennaiyin made sure they left no stoned unturned. In a game that witnessed just about everything, Kerala’s Jamie Mcallister received his marching orders in the 27th minute making it 10-v-11 for the majority of the encounter. Mikael Silvestre scored two minutes before half-time to renew Chennaiyin’s hopes of a comeback. They were given another lifeline by Kerala with Sandesh Jhingan putting through his own net in the 76th minute. Jeje Lalpekhlua then scored in the last minute of the game to take it into extra time with all momentum in the Super Machans’ favour. The match took another twist in the 114th minute of extra time when Chennai’s marquee player-cum-coach Marco Materazzi was sent for an early shower following his second yellow of the match. Stephen Pearson stepped forward to become hero and scored the winner in the 117th minute as Kerala reached the final 4-3 on aggregate.Kerala Blasters FC 1 Chennaiyin FC 1Their first encounter last season ended in a 1-1 draw in Kochi. Elano converted a penalty to put Chennai ahead in the 34th minute, however, a Chris Dagnall goal straight after the restart made it all square. The match also witnessed tempers flaring on the pitch as Bruno Pernone was shown red with 15 minutes to play.Chennaiyin FC 4 Kerala Blasters FC 1The last meeting between these two teams turned out to be a Stiven Mendoza show as the Colombian hitman netted a hat-trick to guide his side to a 4-1 victory. After Dhanachandra Singh had given the Super Machans a fourth-minute lead, strikes from Mendoza in the 16th, 80th and 81st minutes piled on the misery for the Blasters. Antonio German scored a consolation goal for Kerala in the 90th minute.
