Chennai, Oct 31 Adrian Luna missed a penalty as Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC played out a goalless draw in their Indian Super League match at the Marina Arena here on Saturday.
In Chennaiyin’s first home appearance of the season, Luna struck the woodwork from the spot in the 49th minute, while Irfan Yadwad hit the crossbar at the other end in the 69th minute.
Kerala Blasters goalkeeper Amrinder Singh made several crucial saves, including a late one-on-one stop, to ensure the visitors came away with a point.
Both sides started aggressively, pressing high and looking to exploit spaces on the counter-attack.
Chennaiyin created the first clear opportunity in the 31st minute when Madih Talal cut inside and unleashed a curling right-footed effort, but Amrinder pushed it away.
Four minutes later, Ramon Tanque picked out Yadwad inside the box, but the forward’s powerful effort was again kept out by the Kerala goalkeeper.
The visitors relied on crosses and quick transitions to threaten, but Chennaiyin’s defence held firm as the teams went into the break without a goal.
Kerala Blasters made a change at half-time, bringing on Sumit Singh for Hormipam Ruivah.
They won a penalty soon after when Mohammad Sanan was brought down by Yadwad inside the box.
The Chennaiyin winger’s arm also came into contact with the ball during the incident, prompting the referee to point to the spot.
Luna stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, but his effort struck the woodwork and bounced away.
Kerala continued to press, with Andre Green forcing Mohammad Nawaz into a save in the 54th minute after a quick counter-attack.
Chennaiyin made two substitutions around the hour mark, introducing Lalhriatpuia Chawnghtu and S Prakadeswaran in place of Ayush Chhetri and Brison Fernandes.
Yadwad came close to breaking the deadlock in the 69th minute when he attempted to curl a right-footed effort past Amrinder, only for the ball to strike the top-right corner of the crossbar.
Kerala made further changes in the 77th minute, with Vibin Mohanan and MS Sreekuttan replacing Korou Singh and Sanan.
Luna was substituted by Momo Yansane five minutes later, while Chennaiyin brought on Bryce Miranda and Dippendu Biswas for Tanque and Bhutia in the 87th minute.
Chennaiyin came close to snatching a late winner in the 89th minute after intercepting a Kerala set-piece routine and launching a counter-attack. Miranda played Yadwad through on goal, but Amrinder produced another fine save to deny the forward’s attempted chip.
Tempers flared in stoppage time, with Green and Imanishimwe shown red cards following a scuffle, as the contest ended with both teams settling for a point.
(PTI News)
