Kerala Blasters, NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) share points in Indian Super League

Guwahati: Kerala Blasters shared points with NorthEast United FC following a gripping 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League match at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday night. Alaeddine Ajaraei’s goal from a freekick was equalized by Noah Sadaoui’s stunning strike as the Kerala Blasters FC salvaged a crucial point on the road.

Right from kickoff, it was a very high-intensity match with end-to-end football from both sides. However, the visitors made the more impressive moves with the likes of Noah, Jesus Jimenez and Danish Farooq combining in attack. Kerala Blasters FC almost had the opener when their Moroccan superstar lost his marker and made a telling run down the left flank before finding Farooq in the box. Unfortunately the 28-year-old failed to make contact with the ball with only the goalkeeper to beat.

At the start of the second half, Mikael Stahre turned to Kwame Peprah to replace Alexandre Coeff as he wanted to add more guile to the attack. Kerala Blasters FC started the second essay brightly with Rahul KP getting more involved in play for them.

NorthEast United FC made them pay courtesy of a goal from Ajaraei in the 58th minute. The Moroccan struck a free-kick straight on goal and on any other day, Sachin would gather it with ease. But the young goalkeeper faltered with his collection as the ball crossed the line, awarding NorthEast United FC with the opening goal.

Despite the goal, the visitors kept pushing forward in search of the equalizer. Noah with his mazy runs caused a lot of problems for the Highlanders’ defence. Kerala Blasters FC were eventually rewarded in the 67th minute when substitute Mohammed Aimen released Noah just outside the box. The Moroccan superstar glided through a crowd of defenders before rifling his shot into the bottom left corner, beating Gurmeet completely in the process.

Things became slightly more difficult for the hosts when Asheer Akhtar was given the marching orders in the 82nd minute for a reckless tackle on Noah. Kerala Blasters tried taking full advantage of the situation as Aimen almost came close to scoring twice in quick succession. One opportunity saw him go past an on-rushing Gurmeet only to get denied by a tackle from Michel Zabaco. Agencies

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