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NorthEast United hold home side Kerala Blasters FC for 0-0 draw. Ricki Herberts boys failed to impress yet again and as a result stand no chances to make it to the knockout stage. The home side too is not guaranteed of a place in the semis. They now have to win their last home game and wait for FC Pune to falter.Here are the 5 talking points from tonights game.
#1 NorthEast United FC technically bows out of semi-final berth
With todays draw, the John Abraham owned side bows out of action, well if not mathematically, logically they are. NorthEast United FC will now have to stare at FC Pune city and pray they lose their upcoming game against Delhi Dynamos on Saturday. A positive result on Maharashtra side will shatter the hopes of the north east franchise. It is safe to say that the Hero Indian Super League campaign is over for them.
#2 Ricki Herberts side looked clueless throughout the tournament
Ricki Herbert has several successes under his belt but his stint with Indian Super League side NorthEast United FC is something which he would like to forget soon. Throughout the tournament his side looked clueless in attacking zone. The team has just scored 10 goals in 13 matches which prove his side’s failure. While the other teams generated quality football, in comparison to general Indian football standard, NorthEast United failed to play attractive game. Herbert has to take some responsibility of this failure. NorthEast United are technically out of contention to reach the semi finals and they deserve to bow out of this tournament.
#3 Kerala Blasters could not make the best of home advantage
Kerala Blasters failed to make the best of home advantage tonight. Among all the other teams, who are in contention to make the semis, Kerala had the advantage as they had to play their last three games on home soil. But losing the previous game and tying this game has left them on a pressure situation now. They had ample opportunities tonight to win the game but they were wasteful. NorthEast United never looked convincing enough and Kerala could have sealed the fate of the match in their favour and move up in the table in a convincing position. Now the yellow army not only needs to win their last tie, but also have to stare at other team’s performance, to qualify to the knockout stage.
#4 Both the teams were wasteful
Tonight’s result was a fitting result in favor of both the teams as none of them deserved to win the match. You don’t win matches when you miss chances. That’s the harsh truth that both the teams must swallow. Both NorthEast and Kerala have scored the least number of goals in the tournament, and their form reflected in today’s result. In a do or die game, people generally expect goals and attacking football, but unfortunately both the teams approached the game with a counter attacking strategy. With this kind of form in the attack force, none of the teams deserves a semi final spot.
#5 Sandip Nandys impressive goalkeeping
Kerala Blasters only positive aspect from tonight’s home encounter was second goalkeeper Sandip Nandy’s performance. The veteran Indian custodian gave a stellar performance on the field in the absence of marquee player and manager David James. The 39-year-old pulled off quite a few spectacular saves which helped his side to keep their hopes, of qualifying to the knockout stage, afloat.
