That's it from this slow-paced game then. We return on Saturday as ATK host Jamshedpur FC for the game number 19 at 1930 IST. We will look forward to having your company for that game. Till then, cheers!
Awards
The Club Award is shared as this game ended in a draw. Sahal Abdul Samad collects the Limitless Player of the Match Award. Bartholomew Ogbeche is given the Winning Pass of the Match Award while Rahul KP is chosen for the ISL Emerging Player of the Match Award. Last but not least, Sergio Cidoncha is the choice for the Hero of the Match Award!
Goalless draw!
After the midfield battle, both the sides now share a point. Like the first 45, there were hardly any chances created by both sides in the next half. Star striker Bartholomew Ogbeche came in the 78th minute and had a couple of close chances but he could not convert them into goal. Odisha FC too fought hard but could not manage to sneak the ball inside the net. Earlier in the first half, we saw several key players getting injured which didn't allow the match to flow smoothly. One can say that the defenders of both sides did a brilliant job but to be honest, they weren't tested enough by the attackers. The visiting team won't mind a point from an away game but Kerala will be hurting after failing to return to winning ways in front of their home crowd.
90'
Full time
Kerala Blasters FC 0-0 Odisha FC!
90'
Close shave for Odisha FC
Prasanth Karuthadathkuni runs with the ball inside the box from the left flank and looks to make a pass just in front of the goal to Bartholomew Ogbeche who once again cannot make a proper connection and the ball is cleared away.
90'
Added time
Two minutes added in this half by the referee.
89'
Poor effort that one
Daniel Lalhlimpuia gets the ball 35 yards out and looks to shoot the ball on target but Sergio Cidoncha blocks it and it eventually goes wide of the goal for a corner.
86'
Almost the winner!
Rahul KP almost hammers one in but Francisco Dorronsoro stands strong to keep it out. Prasanth Karuthadathkuni makes a superb pass from the left flank inside the penalty area. Bartholomew Ogbeche is in there and he looks to head the ball but it goes over and falls for Rahul KP. The midfielder hammers the shot on target but Francisco Dorronsoro blocks it out nicely.
84'
Nothing happening
The ball continues to get rolled in the midfield by the players and none of the teams can get the pass that matters.
78'
Things heating up
Diawandou Diagne and Bartholomew Ogbeche getting involved in a heated argument. The Kerala striker was inside the box looking to receive a cross but it got cleared away. Diagne then pushed him away and Ogbeche doesn't take it well. Both have a go at each other and the referee intervenes. He separates both the players and calmed them now. Tension flaring. The replays show that Ogbeche had stepped on Diawandou Diagne's foot.
78'
Star comes on now
Crowd roars as Bartholomew Ogbeche comes on to replace Mohammed Rafi. Can he manage to sneak one through and send the home crowd into a frenzy?
78'
Substitution
Substitution - Kerala Blasters FC (In: B'tholomew Ogbeche, Out: Mohammed M'mbillath)
74'
Corner cleared away
Martin Guedes takes the corner and hammers it just in front of the keeper but TP Rehenesh punches it away easily. Jessel Carneiro then clears it out of harm's way.
67'
Handball appeal
Prasanth Karuthadathkuni has the ball just outside the box on the right flank. He takes the ball inside the penalty area and then takes a few touches before looking to make a pass to Rahul KP. However, Narayan Das blocks it out. Prasanth Karuthadathkuni appeals for a handball but nothing from the referee there.
65'
Ambitious effort from Odisha FC
Martin Guedes takes a long-range shot from the midfield now but he fires it way over the goal. Some loose play going on.
63'
Off target
Prasanth Karuthadathkuni takes the ball into the box from the right flank. He takes a couple of touches in the box and then looks to fire the ball inside the net but the shot goes high and wide.
60'
Ambitious effort!
Sergio Cidoncha gets the ball off a throw-in. He passes it to Raju Gaikwad who takes a long-range shot but it goes wide of diving Francisco Dorronsoro.
58'
Nice cross
Jerry Mawihmingthanga makes a superb diagonal cross from the right flank. He finds Nandhakumar Sekar inside the box. Sekar receives it on the volley but hits it on the side of the net.
55'
No clear-cut chances as yet
The game going on at a very slow pace as the defenders have managed to keep the forwards of both the sides at bay.
49'
Another injury?
These are not good visuals. Mohammed Rafi and Diawandou Diagne leap high in the air to receive a header in the midfield but both collide. But they are back on their feet now.
48'
Nice play
Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Narayan Das, and Nandhakumar Sekar combine for a nice passing on the left flank. However, they fail to get inside the box as Mohamad Rakip makes sure the ball goes out for a goal kick.
46'
Second half time
We are all set to begin the second half. Kerala Blasters FC will get us underway. The visitors make an early substitution as Marcos Tebar goes off and Martin Guedes replaces him.
46'
Substitution
Substitution - Odisha FC (In: Martin Guedes, Out: Marcos Ramiro)
All level at the half-way mark
Both the sides head into the tunnel with the scoreline reading 0-0. There were more injuries than the number of goal scoring chances. Jairo Rodrigues, the Kerala Blasters FC skipper was the first man to go out and then we had three more players getting substituted. In the 35th minute, Sahal Abdul Samad made a superb run inside the box but he was fouled. However, the referee did not award a penalty which could've been the only chance where either of the sides could've scored. Now, how will these teams approach the second 45? Do join us for the same in a while.
45'
Half time
There goes the half time whistle and it is all level.
45'
Attack cleared out
Xisco Hernandez takes the ball on the right flank and looks to cross the ball inside the box but Abdul Hakku is alert as he pushes it out with a strong header.
45'
Added time
The referee has added five minutes to this injury-full half. Odisha FC make another substitution as Daniel Lalhlimpuia comes in for Rana Gharami.
45'
Substitution
Substitution - Odisha FC (In: Daniel L'hlimpuia, Out: Rana Gharami)
44'
Chance for Kerala
Mohammed Rafi makes a superb cross from the right flank which reaches inside the box. Sahal Abdul Samad looks to head it but he misses. The ball falls to Rahul KP who attempts a scissor kick but it goes off target.
42'
Not far from the half-way mark
With less than 3 minutes and added time left, both the sides will look to up the ante and try to go to the break with a 1-0 lead. Can they do it?
38'
Poor cross
Jessel Carneiro has the ball on the left flank. He looks to cross the ball to Mohammed Rafi in the box but it goes over Rafi and Narayan Das clears it out.
35'
Why no penalty there?
Sahal Abdul Samad takes the ball from the right flank and moves towards the opposition box by dribbling past two defenders but Narayan Das puts a rough tackle as he pushes Samad with his elbow. That was inside the box and this should have been a penalty. Kerala Blasters FC coach is not happy and he is showing his frustration.
30'
Change for Kerala Blasters FC
Messi Bouli goes out after sustaining the injury and Mohammed Rafi comes out to replace him.
30'
Substitution
Substitution - Kerala Blasters FC (In: Mohammed M'mbillath, Out: Raphael Bouli)
28'
Substitution for Odisha FC
Aridane Santana goes off for the visitors and it is Carlos Delgado comes out to replace him.
29'
Substitution
Substitution - Odisha FC (In: Carlos Delgado, Out: Aridane Cabrera)
23'
Clash of heads!
Xisco Hernandez steps up to take a corner from the left side. He swings it in and the players inside the box go to win the ball. There is a big collision between Aridane Santana and Messi Bouli and both fall down. Aridane is bleeding from his head and Bouli has also not moved much after going down. Play is halted. Looks like a big injury. They have called for the ambulance. Dear me, let's hope both the strikers are doing fine.
22'
Chance there
Xisco Hernandez makes a through ball from the midfield towards the left flank where he finds Nandhakumar Sekar. Sekar looks to pass the ball towards Jerry Mawihmingthanga inside the box but Jessel Carneiro intervenes to head the ball away for a corner.
21'
No card there
Shubham Sarangi should consider himself lucky as he did not receive a card for an ugly tackle. He tripped Rahul KP from behind but has got away with that rough challenge.
15'
Good defending
Sergio Cidoncha receives a cross from the right flank inside the box. He looks to head it in the direction of the goal but Diawandou Diagne once again manages to block it out. It looked like the cross came off from someone's hand there.
14'
First goal attempt
Sahal Abdul Samad, the youngster, looks to slam the ball after receiving it from the touch of Messi Bouli but Diawandou Diagne blocks it out.
12'
No clear-cut chances
More than 10 minutes have passed in the first half. We are yet to witness a shot on target from either side.
9'
Goof up there
Jessel Carneiro and Sergio Cidoncha line up to take a free kick but to everyone's surprise, no one goes for it thinking the other person will have a shot. Eventually, Sergio Cidoncha takes it but nothing comes out from it.
6'
Nice defending
Raju Gaikwad makes a long pass looking for Messi Bouli on the left flank. Diawandou Diagne gets across and heads the ball out for a corner.
5'
The skipper goes off
Yes, Jairo Rodrigues goes out and he is replaced by Abdul Hakku as a like-to-like substitute.
5'
Substitution
Substitution - Kerala Blasters FC (In: Abdul Nediyodath, Out: Jairo Filho)
3'
Injury early on?
Jairo Rodrigues seems in some pain and we can see him going off. He was going to retrieve a bad pass by going quickly towards the ball and seems like he pulled his hamstring there. Not a good sight for the hosts.
1'
Youngster on the move
Rahul KP gets the ball on the right flank and looks to run away with the ball but Diawandou Diagne does well to deflect the ball out for a throw-in.
1'
Kick off
The visitors get us underway by passing the ball behind.
Toss
Odisha FC win the toss and they will attack from left to right in this half.
National Anthem
The players are out in the middle for the Indian National Anthem. We are not too far away from the kick off.
It is time for Match no. 18 of the Indian Super League where Kerala Blasters FC will host Odisha FC. The home side comes into this game after facing back-to-back losses against Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC and will be looking to turn their fortunes around against Odisha. The main problem for them has been the injuries to several key players including talisman Mario Arques. They will be looking for some creativity in the final third to feed their star striker Ogbeche. Mouhamadou Gning and Sahal Abdul Samad have struggled so far after their win against ATK in the first match of the season and it will be interesting to see what happens today. Their defence also will be tested to the full against an in-form Aridane Santana. Coming to the visitors now, Odisha coach Josep Gombau has already sparked the contest up by saying that he is looking forward to playing against the away crowd and will be using it as an extra motivation to win. Gombau will be counting on the likes of Marcos Tebar, Xisco Hernandez and Jerry Mawihmingthanga to feed Aridane Santana upfront. Their defense needs to pull up their socks, especially in the dying moments, as they have been conceding during that period regularly. An exciting clash awaits us!