Power-packed: Diamantakos emerged the hero for the home side.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
With centre-back Milos Drincic scoring the match-winner and almost producing another in the last game, there was a comment in Tuesday’s pre-match media conference here on how a defender was winning a match for Kerala Blasters.
Hearing this, head coach Ivan Vukomanovic joked that perhaps the team’s Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos should be sent to defend.
One is not sure whether Diamantakos heard that but he pulled out the home side from the deep with two goals on Wednesday night as Blasters overcame a 1-3 deficit to hold Chennaiyin 3-3 in the ISL at the Nehru Stadium here.
Kerala Blasters’ failed attempt on goal against Chennaiyin FC.
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
Chennaiyin managed to do something no other team could do this season, it silenced the packed oval with a goal from Rahim Ali in the opening minute and forced the host to keep the volume on mute for nearly the first half hour by adding two more goals through Australian forward Jordan Murray by the 24th.
But Diamantakos, who had helped Blasters equalise at 1-1 earlier by scoring off a penalty after Kwame Peprah was brought down, came with an impressive strike by the hour mark, with a powerful shot from outside the box.
In between, Blasters’ Ghanaian forward Peprah scored his first goal of the season with a beauty, finding the right top corner after Adrian Luna had set things up for him. Both the sides came up with some promising attempts after that but could not find the match-winner.
The result: Kerala Blasters 3 (Diamantakos 11-pen & 59, Peprah 38) drew with Chennaiyin FC 3 (Rahim 1, Murray 13-pen & 24).