ISL 2017/18, Match 80: Kerala Blasters vs Chennaiyin FC, 5 Talking Points
Courage Pekuson missed a penalty on the night when Kerala Blasters were desperate to register a victory over Chennaiyin FC to remain in contention for ISL playoffs. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, a result which has all but ended Kerala's hopes of progressing any further in the tournament while Chennaiyin went back home as the happier of the two teams.
The Blasters remained rooted to the fifth position on the table with 25 points from 17 games, which means they can only finish fourth as the third-placed Chennaiyin moved to 29 points from same number of fixtures and now they can't be overtaken by Kerala.
A victory in the last match is not the only thing which would help Kerala seize the fourth spot as results involving Jamshedpur FC, Mumbai City and FC Goa should go their way, which looks highly unlikely.
Let's take a look at the talking points from the game:
#1 Kerala Blasters hound Chennaiyin FC with flurry of attacks
Needing a win at any cost, Kerala launched waves of attacks on the Chennaiyin goal right from the word ‘go’. Jackichand Singh, Courage Pekuson and Gudjon Baldvinsson had their shots saved by a valiant Karanjit Singh, adding to the frustration of the home fans.
However, the only time when the Chennaiyin custodian was beaten in the first half, the goal post came to his rescue. Collecting a pass from Dimitar Berbatov, striker CK Vineeth unleashed a smashing shot from outside the box which evaded Karanjit’s full stretch dive but struck the upright as the scoreline remained nil-nil at the end of the first half.