Kerala Blasters FC and Chennaiyin FC played out an incredible 3-3 draw in an exhilarating encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in their Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 clash on Wednesday.
The match got off to a thrilling start with Chennaiyin FC’s Rahim Ali, who had recovered just in time from injury to play in the match, netted a goal in just 54 seconds – the sixth fastest goal in ISL history, to put the visitors in front.
What followed was a frenetic passage of play, with both the sides being handed penalties.
Ajith Kumar was culpable in fouling Kwame Peprah inside the box and Dimitrios Diamantakos duly coverted the spot kick to bring the home side level in terms in the 11th minute. However, just two minutes later Naocha Singh brought down Crivellaro inside the box before Jordan Murray – yet another injury recovered player, put Chennaiyin FC back in the lead.
Murray found the net yet again just 11 minutes later as Rahim carved the Kerala Blasters backline with an incisive through ball to the Australian national, who made no mistake in slotting it past Sachin Suresh, much to the dismay of the home crowd.
However, the Blasters and their skipper Adrian Luna took it upon himself to inspire a much needed comeback for the home team.
From nearly 30 yards out, the Uruguayan international pulled the trigger and attempted a shot that was arguably too good to be true. The ball bumped into Peprah, who turned around and shot the ball firmly into the net with his left foot.
In a night of wonder goals, why would Diamantakos hold back? If his first goal was a straightforward one from the spot, the second one was one that brought the entire stadium to its feet. The Greek forward controlled a pass by Danish Farooq, and unleashed a powerful shot from his left foot in the 59th minute to bring the Blasters back on level terms with Chennaiyin FC.
Despite three fantastic goals from both ends, the two sides eventually had to settle for a point each.