Kerala Blasters won its first point in this edition of the Indian Super League after forcing a strong Delhi Dynamos to a goalless draw at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday night.
The home team’s best chance came just a minute before the end of first session when the experienced Englishman Michael Chopra raced into the box after dodging past his markers around him.
The centre-forward sent a diagonal shot from the right and it seemed to be on its way home. There was a roar of joy from the sea of yellow in the stadium, packed for the second straight home game, but Dynamos’ goalkeeper Antonio Doblas pushed away the danger just in time.
Clearly, it was a story of missed chances.
Tireless workerLeft-back Josu Currias Prieto was a tireless worker, racing up the flank frequently and sending promising crosses to Antonio German and the others up front.
Blasters appeared to be dominating play to a good extent in the first half. The home team had a chance to go up when Josu’s corner in the 40th minute found Duckens Nazon, who failed to get a leg on to it.
Sandesh Jhingan looked impressive as he took care of Dynamos’ Senegalese striker Badara Badji while the other central defender, captain Cedric Hengbart, kept the visitor’s star winger Marcelinho on a tight leash.
Dynamos suffered a big setback early in the second session when their goalkeeper Doblas, who hurt himself in a clash with Jhingan a few minutes earlier, was forced to make his exit with Indian Meitei Soram replacing him.
A little later Hengbart, who had picked up a yellow card earlier, was replaced with Senegalese Eldhaji Ndoye.
