Noah Sadaoui inspired a fragrant Kerala Blasters outfit to draw 2-2 against Odisha FC in the 21st match of the Indian Super League at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Thursday, October 3. However, the hosts’ Diego Mauricio ensured that the former did not end up being on the winning side at the end of the encounter.
The Moroccan was responsible for getting on the scoresheet in the 18th minute of the game and then setting up striker Jesus Jimenez to do so three minutes later. Odisha, however, were not one to take these insults and they fought back.
An error from goalkeeper Sachin Suresh ensured that the Juggernauts reduced the deficit in half in the 29th minute via an own goal from Alexandre Coeff before star centre-forward Mauricio brought things back to parity in the 36th.
Both teams will be disappointed at not having picked up a positive result at the end of this game, but the Blasters will be the happier of the two given that they have now picked up two points from two consecutive away games.
Some of the major talking points of the game came in the second half, first in the 69th minute when Odisha striker Rahim Ali was clearly brought down by Danish Farooq inside the box but referee Harish Kundu decided to wave play on.
The second took place in the 89th minute when Sadaoui was tripped by Amey Ranawade in the Odisha box, only for Kundu to turn a blind eye yet again. The course of the game might have been different had these two penalties been given.
The second half yielded no goals but was enthralling to watch
The first goal came for the Blasters in the 18th minute moments after they had begun toying with the Juggernauts’ defence for quite some time. The latter looked lethargic and slow and allowed Sadaoui and Jimenez to run amok with their accurate passing.
Jimenez was set up by an accidental backtap from Pritam Kotal continuing a forward run from a ball given by Rahul KP on the wings. The former then saw Sadaoui arriving from the left and duly passed it to him. The Morrocan wasted no time in slotting it wide to the left-hand side of a diving Amrinder Singh.
The second goal was again a masterful piece of work from Sadaoui, who found himself in acres of space on the left wing after deceiving Ranawade and Thoiba Singh. He then set it up for Jimenez, who then unleashed a stunning shot, again to the left of Amrinder. The Spaniard then enacted an awkward-looking ‘injured player’ celebration.
Odisha looked to regroup after this attack, but their tardiness in defence seemed to hamper their productivity in the final third as well. However, in the 29th minute, a stray ball coming from a corner by Ahmed Jahouh was mishandled by Blasters’ goalkeeper Suresh, only for it to find Coeff’s feet and land back inside his own net.
Poacher Diego Mauricio then found himself in the right spot at the right time after a quick one-two with young winger Jerry Mawihmingthanga and then sliding the ball past Suresh. The talismanic Brazilian looked set for more goals but was subbed off in the 54th minute for Krishna.
The second half, despite seeing no goals from either side, was exciting to watch even as the supporters at the Kalinga Stadium upped the ante and tried to push their team towards victory. As both teams tired, spaces opened up in midfield, but the final attacking assault was lacking.
Kerala will feel that they missed out aplenty in this game given that they could have sealed its fate in the first half itself. At one stage, it was as if they were playing against an Under-19 side given how callous Odisha’s defence seemed. However, the Blasters let go of this advantage and allowed the hosts to come back into the game through errors in defence and midfield.
This draw takes the Tuskers up to the fourth position of the league table with 5 points to their name whereas the Juggernauts too move up to the 9th spot in the standings, having amassed 4 points in total.
Both teams go into the international break after this match, with Odisha slated to play East Bengal at home on 22 October and Kerala Blasters tasked to travel to Kolkata to meet Mohammedan SC on the 20th.
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