Nishu Kumar (28th) and Harmanjot Khabra (40th) netted first-half goals to keep the Kerala Blasters' juggernaut rolling. Kerala now have 20 points from 11 games while Odisha, who remain in eighth place, have 13 in their kitty from 10 matches.
Jeakson Singh (10th) opened the scoring for the Blasters before Luna scored a wondergoal in the 20th minute to make it 2-0. Kerala looked on top before FC Goa came back to first make it 2-1 riding a Jorge Ortiz (24th) strike before Edu Bedia scored from the corner in the 38th minute.
Mumbai City remained on top of the heap but the result meant Hyderabad FC, Jamshedpur FC and Chennaiyin FC can now close the gap on the reigning champions.
Alvaro Vazquez (62nd minute) and substitute Prasanth Karuthadathkuni (85th) scored second-half goals to hand the yellow shirts their first victory in 11 months.
Ashique Kuruniyan (84’) gave the Blues the lead before putting one past his own net four minutes later to help the Kerala Blasters salvage a point.
Ivan Vukomanovic handed young Vincy Barretto an ISL debut on the right-wing, while Enes Sipovic made his debut in yellow at the heart of the defence.
Hugo Boumous (3', 39') and Liston Colaco (50'), brought in for upwards of Rs 3.5 Crore, paid instant dividends by scoring in the goals. Roy Krishna (27' P), too did not fail to capitalise from the spot, yet again amongst the goals.
Like in the last season, the three venues in Goa -- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Tilak Maidan in Vasco and GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolin -- will host the first phase of the ISL which runs till January 9.
The teams were tied 1-1 at the break with Rahul K P (17th) giving Kerala Blasters a surprise lead which was cancelled out by Cleiton Silva (29th).
Vicuna helped Mohun Bagan secure their second I-League title with four rounds to spare before the remaining matches of the league had to be called off owing to coronavirus outbreak.
FC Goa, ATK and Bengaluru FC, are locked in a compelling three-way battle for the top spot in the league stage of the ISL, which guarantees a spot in the AFC Champions League.
Kerala continued to occupy the ninth position with eight points from 10 matches while NorthEast are seventh with 11 points.
Kerala had the better chances to score but it was a Piti (38') penalty that broke the deadlock. CK Vineeth (71') added the visitor's second before Raphael Messi Bouli scored a brace (75', 87') to pull his team level.
Edu Garcia's free-kick in the 85th minute gave ATK an unexpected lead but a Matej Poplatnik goal just three minutes later saw the spoils shared.
Tendulkar has always been an integral part of the Blasters set-up and was often seen cheering the team from the stands in home and away games.
Chennaiyin FC are placed third after accumulating 29 points from 17 matches, the same as second-placed FC Pune City, who have a better goal difference.
Kochi: Kerala Blaster FC and Mumbai City FC cancelled each other's goal-scoring threat out to settle for 0-0 draw in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here Wednesday. The point obtained
Top News
Latest News
