Defending champions, Chennaiyin FC failed to get the better of Kerala Blasters FC in the southern derby as both teams settled for a point in an end-to-end goalless draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. The point does neither team any favours as their chances of making the playoffs gets even tougher.

  • Thoi Singh missed a golden chance for the dominant hosts in the first half.
  • Dheeraj Singh pulled off a flurry of saves to deny the Chennaiyin attackers.
  • Substitute Seiminlen Doungel hit the post late on.

The Marina Machans made a notable tactical tweak from their last match away at Jamshedpur, bringing in Andrea Orlandi to support Raphael Augusto. The move was almost vindicated in the third minute itself when Augusto danced his way past the Blasters defence to set-up an easy opportunity for Issac Vanmalsawma at the far post. The winger, however, failed to find the right connection.

The Blasters despite having the lion’s share of possession failed to trouble a steady Chennaiyin defence and opted to use long balls without any real success. The defending champions, on the other hand, looked menacing whenever they went forward with Jeje Lalpekhlua’s snapshot just missing the crossbar 20 minutes in the match.

Thoi, who replaced Francisco Fernandes on the right-hand side of Chennaiyin’s attack, then tested Dheeraj in the Blasters goal with a venomous drive on the half-volley in the 30th minute. Dheeraj, however, flew to his right to deny an almost certain goal.

Shortly after, Thoi should have put the defending champions ahead as he combined well with Jeje to arrive unmarked inside the Blasters penalty spot. Despite having the entire goal to aim at, Thoi failed to apply the finishing touch to what would have been a deserved goal for the champions. However, the reigning champions’ lack of clinical edge meant that they went into half-time wondering how they hadn’t found the back of the Blasters’ net.

Fifteen minutes after the restart, Augusto almost immediately produced something from nothing when his cutback was inches away from finding the sliding boot of Jeje.

David James’ Kerala Blasters learnt their lesson from the first half, keeping it much shorter this time around. Their first real chance came soon after when Sahal Abdul Samad got behind the Chennaiyin defence before hitting a powerful low drive on target that was directed straight at Sanjiban Ghosh in the Chennaiyin goal.

Chances kept flowing for Chennaiyin at the other end, but Dheeraj looked in defiant mood as he punched away quite a few dangerous crosses. Kerala’s response to a flat first-half was exactly what was required, and they came the closest that either side had come to breaking the deadlock 10 minutes from full-time.

Substitute Doungel found a lot of green grass ahead of him after being beautifully set-up by Keziron Kizito. With very tight angle to work with, Doungel fired a stinging shot on target that beat Sanjiban but ricocheted off the upright to save the home side from another agonizing late goal. Seconds later, Doungel had another crack at goal but unlike his first effort, he missed the target altogether as the match ended in a stalemate.

Hero of the Match- Dheeraj Singh

The Kerala Blasters custodian was on song throughout the match, punching and spreading himself about to keep the Chennaiyin shots at bay. The youngster made a total of six clearances along with pulling off three crucial saves to deny Chennai.

Match Awards

Club Award- Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC

Swift Limitless Player of the Match- Raphael Augusto

DHL Winning Pass of the Match- Jeje Lalpekhlua

ISL Emerging Player of the Match- Isaac Vanmalsawma

Hero of the Match- Dheeraj Singh

What’s next?

Chennaiyin will play ATK at home on Sunday hoping to get a win that helps them in their quest for an unlikely playoff place. The Blasters, on the other hand, will be at home to an ever-improving Jamshedpur FC on December 4th.

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Related tags:

Kerala Blasters FCChennaiyin FC 2018-2019Match Report