ISL, CHE vs KER: Chennaiyin FC clinch South Indian derby

Chennai: In what was termed as the South Indian derby, hosts Chennaiyin FC (CHE) defeated Kerala Blasters (KER) 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday.

Here is how the action unfolded.

1: Balwant Singh had a golden opportunity to net his second goal of ISL and first of this game. But he made a mess of it after a header went far and wide.

8: Yellow Card! Gurwinder Singh of Kerala Blasters certainly did not impress the referee much, got first card of the match.

12: Gurwinder Singh made a nasty tackle as he brought down Abhishek Das. Referee award Chennaiyin FC a penalty. Gurwinder must consider himself lucky that he was not sent off.

13: GOAL! Elano Blumer netted an easy penalty to put Chennaiyin FC in lead.

25: Close shave! And Kerala Blasters must consider themselves really unlucky there. Sabeeth did his best to cash in onto the pass from Jhingan. But the ball hit the goal post. Penn Orji still had a chance to net an equaliser but he just could not.

42: Kerala Blasters missed out on another opportunity to score the equaliser. Jhingam made another well-timed pass. But Sabeth wasted a solid effort he could not put himself in a position to strike.

Half-time: Chennaiyin FC 1 - Kerala Blasters 0.

50: GOAL! Kerala Blasters netted an equaliser early in the second-half. Iain Hume kept his calm and scored om a corner.

64: STUNNER! Absolute stunner from Mendy, a bicycle kick! The bounced ball on a corner and Mendy sensational shot landed in the goalpost. And then, a well-justified wild celebration from him and the owners of Chennaiyin FC. Even Sachin Tendulkar, Kerala Blasters owner, could not stop himself from applauding that goal.

77: Kerala Blasters continued to counterattack. But the attempt from Bracigliano could not land in net. While the Blasters secured a corner, that did not help the matters much.

86: Another chance for Kerala Blasters and they made a mess of it. Iain Hume made a solid sprint and dodged the Chennaiyin FC defender and passed the ball to Sabeeth who just hit it wide and away from the goalpost.

Full-time. Chennaiyin FC 2- Kerala Blasters 1.

While the on-field action was engrossing in itself, presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Rajinikanth and Abhishek Bachchan was equallu alluring for the fans. Another superstar, Amitabh Bachchan joined them soon as well. The Bachchan father-son duo also had a ball in the field.

Here is the Chennaiyin FC starting XI.

Kerala Blasters' started with these XI.

Managers:

Marco Materazzi (Chennaiyin FC)