Kochi: No more than 8,451 were in attendance, scattered across the 60,000-seater, on Tuesday as Kerala played out a dramatic 1-1 draw against Jamshedpur.
Seiminlen Doungel's 77th minute equaliser earned Kerala their sixth draw of the season, after Carlos Calvo had put the visitors ahead in the 66th minute from a dubious penalty.
Under the circumstances Kerala had made a tenacious start to the game and true to their manager's pre-match thoughts of being 'effective' they responded earnestly, and with vigour. The hosts took as many as three shots on target inside half-an-hour; Sahal denied by the crossbar and Doungel's rebound effort cleared off the line by a vigilant Emerson Moura.Mawihmingthanga had replaced an injured Soosairaj in the 12th minute and the chirpy attacker had a shot placed wide shortly after arrival.
Tim Cahill's bullish style had met its match in Anas, who kept a check on the veteran Australian for most part of the game, but was cast aside by the former Everton striker's timely run that forced Dheeraj off his lines and resulted in a penalty. The collision had seemingly took place outside the box but nevertheless, Carlos Calvo calmly netted the controversial opener.
