ISL: Kerala Blasters move closer to playoffs

Jamshedpur: Kerala Blasters moved closer to the ISL playoffs after playing out a 1-1 draw with Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex here on Saturday. 

Ahead of the match, the Yellow Army required a victory to ensure that they booked a berth in the playoffs. Their march towards the same received a boost courtesy of an opening strike by Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos.

However, Javi Siverio, who had been a constant source of threat for the Blasters, found the back of the net in the 45th minute.

Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC split points after a goalless draw in the early kick-off.

The draw took Kerala Blasters to 30 points from 19 games and they remain in fifth place. The top-six are assured of a place in the playoffs.

The top two teams will seal the direct semifinals spots, while the remaining four will be involved in a single-leg knockout match.

Blasters shot into lead through in the 23rd minute of the match. With 13 goals and three assists, Dimantakos has arguably been the standout striker across all teams of the ISL this season. Rahul K P steered the ball forward before playing it on the path of Emmanuel Justine Ojoka who was inside the box. The latter took a deft touch, before directing the ball towards Diamantakos, who deposited it into the net sans any delay.

Jamshedpur got their act together soon afterwards, with Tachikawa, Jeremy Manzorro, Imran Khan, and Mohammed Sanan taking turns to tease the Blasters defence. The Red Miners dominated possession (59 per cent) throughout the game, ensuring that they took 37.5 per cent of their shots on target, as compared to the 23.07 per cent by the away team.

Jamshedpur hasn’t been afraid in experimenting different ways to unlock the opposition’s backline under the watch of Khalid Jamil. They testified that through the goal by Siverio, which was set up by defender Elsinho, whose long ball sliced open the Blasters backline. The Spaniard sprinted smartly to avoid the offside trap, collecting the ball comfortably before converting the chance to notch the goal and capture a point for his side.

Blasters will square off against East Bengal at Kochi on Wednesday, while Jamshedpur play Chennaiyin FC on Thursday.

(With inputs from ISL Media)