The Indian Super League match will kick off at 7:30pm IST, and can be live streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website in India. It will be live telecast on the Sports18 network in India.
A red card to Aibanbha Dohling in the 30th minute meant the hosts played the rest of the clash with 10 men, but the Blasters withstood the pressure admirably to emerge unscathed. Catch the highlights of the Indian Super League 2024-25 match
The Indian Super League match will kick off at 7:30pm IST, and can be live streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website in India. It will be live telecast on the Sports18 network in India.
Here's how the two teams line up ahead of kick-off in Kochi:
We are off in Kochi. Things heat up in less than two minutes, as Milos Drincic and Alaaeddine Ajaraie push and shove each other, even as Asheer Akhtar is treated and then forced to exit for an injury sustained from a challenge on the pitch.
Macarton Nickson earns a yellow card for an infraction during a quickly-taken free-kick by Adrian Luna. He tries to protest but the referee is having none of it.
Just half an hour in and this is already becoming a particularly ill-tempered game. Aibanbha Dohling gets into a spat with Alaaeddine Ajaraie, later flicking his head into the latter's in a head-butt of sorts. Ajaraie is booked, but it is the Blasters who are hit hard as Dohling is shown a direct red. Kerala will now be with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
The first half ends with both sides threatening to score multiple times, but neither finding the back of the net in actuality. NorthEast United have a one-man advantage, which they will seek to utilise in the second half too. The hosts, on the other hand, will need a moment of brilliance if they are to emerge victorious.
The second half has Kerala Blasters attacking from left to right, and NorthEast United from right to left. The high-voltage clash continues to see a number of near-misses from both sides, and at the one-hour mark, is still goalless.
We are into added time and no goal has yet been scored. The Blasters have withstood the pressure, being a man down, but missed a few genuine chances themselves. Points set to be shared, barring some last-minute magic.
And that's that. The final whistle is sounded, and Kerala Blasters escape with a 0-0 draw against NorthEast United at home, after being reduced to 10 men inside the first half hour.