Noah Saadaoui’s last-gasp goal gave Kerala Blasters a close 3-2 win over Odisha FC in an Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Monday. Noah scored the winning goal in the fifth minute of extra time after both teams were tied 2-2. Blasters’ other two goals were scored by Kwame Peprah (60th) and Jesus Jimenez (73rd). Jerry Mavimingthanga (4th) and Dori (80th) were the scorers for Odisha FC. The juggernauts are now without a win in their last four matches, and the Kochi side are unbeaten (W5, D2) in all seven matches in which Noah has found the back of the net this season, as the home side took the lead in the final half. Scored three times. Game Hour.
The Juggernauts made a positive start in the fourth minute and took a relatively direct route to surprise the Kerala Blasters defence.
Once inside the box, Dory beat Pritam Kotal aerially to make a header pass to Jerry Mawihmingthanga, who was in the middle of the 18-yard area.
Jerry covered some vital yards at pace, made an impressive adjustment and deposited the ball into the bottom right corner with a slightly high-footed shot to open the scoring.
Kwame Peprah was successful in scoring the equalizing goal in the 60th minute.
Koru Singh produced a creative effort through the ball from the right flank which looped inside the Odisha FC defence. The pass was delivered at perfect pace, but it was Pepra who got on the end of the pass, bypassing Moustarda Fall and Rohit Kumar and firing it into the bottom left corner.
After this Kerala Blasters increased their aggressive steps. In the 73rd minute, the entire front line came forward to tear apart the Odisha FC defence.
Adrian Luna shifted to the right and curled in a cross for Noah at the far left post. Noah showed his cleverness by making a pass to Jesus Jimenez in the center instead of going towards goal.
Jiménez completed the assist perfectly, heading the ball into the high center of the net and giving the home team the lead.
Odisha FC regrouped after Jimenez’s strike. Diego Mauricio took a free-kick from the edge of the box down the centre, aiming for the top right corner, but Sachin Suresh made a timely save.
The ball was cleared but was found by Savior Gama just outside the 18-yard box. Gama fired a powerful effort which had to be saved by the Kerala Blasters goalkeeper at the high center of the goal.
Dori immediately attacked the rebound and equalized the score by putting the ball into the net from very close range in the 80th minute. However, their momentum was interrupted when Carlos Delgado was sent off for a second yellow card in the 83rd minute.
Kerala Blasters took advantage of this one-man advantage by outrunning the Odisha FC defense in the final third. They went on to chase the winner deep into extra time in the second half, with Noah providing the finishing touch to enable them to secure three points on the night.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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