BAMBOLIM, March 6: A play-off berth already booked, Kerala Blasters played out an exciting 4-4 draw against FC Goa – who are out of reckoning – in an Indian Super League match here on Sunday.
Hat-trick hero Airam Cabrera (49th, 63rd, 82nd) and Aibanbha Dohling (79th) both came off the bench to score for FC Goa.
Earlier, Jorge Pereyra Diaz (10th, 25th) had impressed with a brace in the first half. Vincy Barreto (88th) and Alvaro Vazquez (90th) ensured that the Blasters gained a point late on.
The Gaurs ended their campaign at ninth place with 19 points. Kerala finished fourth with 34 points and eagerly await to learn their semifinal opponents, one between Jamshedpur FC and ATK Mohun Bagan.
Sahal Abdul Samad intercepted a ball, initially passed on to Anwar Ali by the keeper. A fine cross into the box and Diaz slid the ball into the net.
Anwar was at fault again for the second goal, giving away the ball easily to Chencho who ran into the box with just the keeper to beat. Tiwari tripped the Bhutanese forward, gifting Kerala a penalty.
Diaz made no mistake from the spot and sent Tiwari the wrong way, bringing up his eighth goal of the season, second of the night, and fourth in three matches.
The first half turned out to be a one-sided affair with FC Goa having just a quarter of ball possession and getting no shots on target.
Edu Bedia’s freekick was deflected by Ivan Gonzalez into space and Cabrera, who had just come off the bench, guided the ball home to half the deficit.
Past the hour mark, Givson gave away a penalty by bringing down Makan Winkle Chothe in the box and Cabrera took it with glee to level the scores. Only minutes ago, Diaz missed a golden opportunity to score a hat-trick at the other end.
Dohling scored a goal that gave Goa the lead for the first time in the night off a long ball from Anwar. The defender was unmarked and took an angled shot that rendered Gill helpless.
Devendra Murgaonkar provided the cutting pass for Cabrera to bring up his maiden ISL hat-trick. Late on, Barreto and Vazquez were sent in from the bench to score a goal each to level scores before the final whistle. (PTI)
