(Football news) 10 man Kerala Blasters overcame NorthEast United 2-1 in the Tilak Maidan on Friday to progress to second place in the Indian Super League table. Goals from Jorge Pereyra Díaz (62nd) and Alvaro Vazquez (82nd) saw Manjappada clinch all three points even though Mohamed Irshad pulled a goal back for NorthEast United in injury time. The result means that Kerala Blasters are on 23 points from 13 outings while NorthEast United remained on 10 points from 16 games.

The first chance of the match fell on NorthEast United’s Suhair Vadakkepeedika as the striker managed to evade his marker but failed to connect with a cross from Joe Zoherliana. Marcelinho also provided some inviting crosses to Suhair while Pragyan Gogoi hit the ball over the bar. Despite linking up well, Hernan Santana and Marcelinho lacked the finishing touches with the latter failing to capitalize on the opportunity set up by Santana.

Three minutes from the break, Kerala Blasters had their first real opportunity through Adrian Luna who delivered the perfect pass to Jeakson Singh but the 20 year old defensive midfielder didn’t hit the target. Kerala started on the front foot in the second half as Alvaro Vazquez tried his luck from 40 yards out as he noticed the goalkeeper was off his line but missed the target. Vazquez soon had another opportunity after being clean through but his shot went straight to the goalkeeper.

Kerala Blasters’ relentless efforts eventually paid dividends as Jorge Pereyra Diaz found the back of the net in the 62nd minute after being left unmarked. The Argentine headed home the ball past Subhashish Roy Choudhary after being assisted by Harmanjot Khabra. However, their joy was short lived as Kerala Blasters went down to 10 men after Ayush Adhikari was sent off for receiving a second yellow card in the 70th minute.

With NorthEast United trailing by a goal, Khalid Jamil replaced Marco Sahanek with Deshorn Brown but Kerala Blasters doubled their advantage with Vazquez scoring a sensational goal from the half-line as he noticed Roy Choudhury was off his line and his shot went into the back of the net. NorthEast United pulled a goal back through Irshad in stoppage time but it was too little, too late as the side succumbed to their second consecutive defeat. 

Kerala Blasters will next face Jamshedpur FC on Thursday, 10th February at the GMC Athletic Stadium while NorthEast United will take on ATK Mohun Bagan on Saturday, 12th February at the Fatorda Stadium.

Also read: Bengaluru out to spoil Jamshedpur's applecart and extend winning run