Kochi: League leaders Chennaiyin FC were left in a heap as Kerala Blasters claimed a convincing 3-0 win in the first leg of their Indian Super League semi-final here on Saturday. Sushanth Mathew struck a blinder in second half injury time after Ishfaq Ahmed (27th) and Iain Hume (29th) had scored during a spell of madness in the first half.
Chennaiyin face a tall order as they need at least four goals to overturn the deficit in the return leg in Chennai on Tuesday.It was a night of magical proportions as for the first time in 15 appearances, Kerala scored thrice and did so convincingly. Chennaiyin, for all their flamboyance, were spellbound as they chased the game in vain.
Sushanth caught the imagination of every veteran India player who gets precious little time in the ISL when he skipped over former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre to score an outrageous goal from 30 yards.The absence of David James did no damage to Kerala’s aspirations.
