Noah Sadaoui’s last-gasp goal handed Kerala Blasters a narrow 3-2 win over Odisha FC in their Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Monday. Noah scored the winning goal in the fifth minute of the added time after both sides were locked 2-2. Blasters’ other two goals were scored by Kwame Peprah (60th) and Jesus Jimenez (73rd). Jerry Mawihmingthanga (4th) and Dori (80th) were the goal-scorers for Odisha FC. The Juggernauts are now winless in their last four games, and the Kochi-based team is unbeaten (W5, D2) in all seven games that Noah has found the back of the net this season, as the home team scored thrice in the final half hour of the game.
The Juggernauts made a positive start in the fourth minute, opting for a relatively direct route to surprise the Kerala Blasters defence.
Once inside the box, Dori aerially overpowered Pritam Kotal to make a headed pass for Jerry Mawihmingthanga, who was in the middle of the 18-yard area.
Jerry covered a few crucial yards with quick 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 managed to pull an equaliser in the 60th minute.
Korou Singh produced a creative through ball from the right flank that swung inside the Odisha FC defence. The pass was delivered at the perfect pace, but it was Peprah who outpaced Mourtada Fall and Rohit Kumar to get at the end of the pass and hammer it into the bottom left corner.
Kerala Blasters stepped up their attacking moves thereafter. The entire frontline came to the fore to dissect the Odisha FC defence in the 73rd minute.
Adrian Luna shifted to the right flank and curled in a cross for Noah on the far left post. Noah produced his smarts, making a headed pass to Jesus Jimenez at the centre rather than going for the goal.
Jimenez met the assist perfectly, booting the ball to the high centre of the net and getting the home side the lead.
Odisha FC regrouped following Jimenez’s strike. Diego Mauricio took a free-kick from the edge of the box down the centre, which was aimed perfectly at the top right corner, but saved in time by Sachin Suresh.
The ball was cleared but met Saviour Gama outside the 18-yard box. Gama unleashed a powerful effort that had to be saved by the Kerala Blasters goalkeeper at the high centre of the goal.
Dori immediately pounced upon the rebound, depositing the ball into the net from extremely close distance to level the scores in the 80th minute. However, their momentum was disrupted by Carlos Delgado getting sent off in the 83rd minute for picking his second yellow card.
Kerala Blasters capitalised on this one-man advantage, by outnumbering the Odisha FC defence in the final third. They kept chasing the winner deep inside the added time of the second half, with Noah delivering the finishing touch to enable them to get the three points from the night.
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