THAT'S IT. FULL TIME. No late magic from Cesar Farias and his men. Kerala Blasters have recorded an emphatic win tonight. What a start to their campaign this year. The second half remained one of the best 45 minutes out of all the matches so far in the ISL 2015. Four goals coming.
Get the Match Report HERE
FULL TIME: KERALA BLASTERS 3-1 NORTHEAST UNITED FC
It's been a cracking match and has lived up to the hype. The fans in the stadium were brilliant today, and it was a pure pleasure bringing the game to you LIVE. Even a single moment in the game was unmissable, and I had to be very careful of that!
So, till next time, I'll be around for another big game from the Indian Super League. As of now, have a great night, and do catch the highlights of the game. This is Sayantan signing off. Cya!
90 [+6]' Bywater picks up a yellow for time-wasting.
90 [+2]' Robin Gurung makes way for Nico Velez. Did Farias get it right there? The Argentine was shaking his head.
90' Gurwinder Singh comes on for Carvalho, who's been stretchered out after picking up a knock.
Additional time: A whopping 6 minutes.
88' Kerala Blasters are dominating in every way. The away side are trying their best, but what's up with the linesman today? Offsides -- time and again. Cesar Farias will be an angry man for sure today.
84' Coimbra comes on for Josue.
82' WHAT A GOAL!!! World class stuff from Nico Velez. The Argentine cuts it in and blasts the side netting of the goal. Assist: Silas.
Kerala 3-1 NorthEast United
79' Boithang's corner is headed powerfully by Hengbart. But the shot is wide of the goal.
77' NorthEast are trying their best to get something out of the game. Seeing more of the ball in the attack. The absence of Simao has terribly affected them today.
72' Meanwhile, it's another GOAL for Kerala Blasters. Sanchez Watt gets clean through and slots home. That's almost a trademark Arsenal finish from an ex-Gunner. No chance for Rehenesh. Wow, this is brilliant stuff! Assist: Mohd Rafi.
Kerala 3-0 NorthEast United
71' One last dice for the away side maybe to get a turnaround. Dadzie comes on for Kamara.
68' GOAL!!!! Kerala Blasters have doubled their lead! Mohd Rafi on target. Directed his header beautifully inside the net. It's all over for the away side now.
Kerala 2-0 NorthEast United
68' More that 60,000 fans have made it to the stadium today. No wonder the Kerala Blasters fans are so talked about.
65' Magical stuff from CK Vineeth. Brilliant run, brilliant dribbling. He's putting on a great show there. However, the final tackle on him form the NorthEast defender is not deemed as a foul by the referee.
He makes way for Manandeep Singh. Impressive night for Vineeth, that's for sure.
62' Velez curls it in. But that's wide of the post. Pretty sure the Argentine didn't like it himself.
58' WHAT A SPOT KICK from Boithang right from the edge of the box. Just tipped away by Bywater. Both keepers are stealing the attention tonight.
56' OH WHAT A STOP! A powerful header from the Kerala Blasters defender is easily caught by Rehenesh. The Indian custodian is putting quite a show there.
54' Sanju Pradhan gets a Yellow card for a show of power there. The resulting free kick from Josue gets saved by Rehenesh.
49' GOAL!!! Great volley from Josue to give Kerala the first blood. The Spanish midfielder blasts the net. Beautiful build up by the home side inside the box.
Kerala 1-0 NorthEast United
48' CLOSE SHAVE for the away side! Crucial save by Rehenesh to deny the home side.
46' Under way for the second half. So here we have former Arsenal striker Sanchez Watt come on for Dagnall.
HALF TIME! That's how the first half ends. A Goalless stalemate. We have been denied of goals so far, but seeing the momentum in the last few moments of the game, the second half can be expected to bring out a winner. Only though if the offsides could be prevented.
Kerala 0-0 Northeast United
45' Additional time: 2 minutes. Meanwhile, a flurry of offsides today from both ends.
44' Nice interpassing from Kerala in the attacking third. Nothing comes out of it, unfortunately.
41' Brilliant defending from the Kerala Blasters defender Perone to halt Seityasen's lethal cross.
39' OFFSIDE! Dagnall was through there, and it was set for the opener. But the linesman is alert.
37' Yellow for Peter Carvalho for a fowl on Kamara.
34' Kamara challenged by Perone, and the referee didn't like that. Free kick for the away side.
Boithang takes it, but not much power on the shot. The defender clears it with ease.
32' There's just no stopping Vineeth today. Meanwhile, a great shot by Dagnall on the goal, but what reflex from Rehenesh to deny that.
30' Cesar Farias is known for his attacking brand of football. And it's showing. It's absolutely spectacular how NorthEast are dominating the midfield, and playing lethal inter-passes and releasing the forwards subtly.
27' Early Sub as Sanju Pradhan comes on for a struggling Miguel Garcia. The winger was tremendous for Atletico de Kolkata last year.
25' And we see Sachin Tendulkar in the stands now. Pretty sure his mere glimpse on the big screen has the power to inspire Kerala Blasters.
23' It's hard to stop Vineeth today. Siam Hanghal picks up a yellow for a challenge from behind on Vineeth.
22' SHOT! What a run from Vineeth. The Bengaluru FC lad takes a shot too. But a comfortable catch for Rehenesh.
18' HOW DID IT NOT GO IN? Vineeth with a great cross inside the box. The first header by Bheke is blocked by Rehenesh and the second try from Dagnall gets blocked too. Out for a corner. What a moment for Kerala!
17' Kerala now seeing more of the ball. They have picked up the momentum it seems. But still it's too tight at the moment.
12' Meanwhile, STUNNING save from Bywater to deny Velez a clear goalscoring opportunity.
11' Rahul Bheke has a go. But his shot does not reach the target. Great run by CK Vineeth on the left flank, to deliver the cross.
10' It's Goalless so far, but definitely the away side are seeing more of the ball. Kerala are doing good on counter-attacks, but they are not taking their chances.
7' CHANCE! Rehenesh gets out of his position. And what a clean through that is for Mohd Rafi. The striker shoots, but it's way up and high. What was the goalkeeper thinking?
5' NorthEast United FC are dominating the ball possession as of now. The hosts are finding it a bit tough to get the ball.
7 pm: THE KICK-OFF IS HERE. FIRST HALF GETS UNDER WAY.
6:55 pm: The players are coming out of the tunnel now, and the kick off is just here.
6:40 pm: Buzzing atmosphere at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi today. Dholaks and drums have come out aplenty. The noise is really going to pick up as the moments progress. Do tune in!
6:30 pm: So, here are the line-ups for tonight's game:
KERALA BLASTERS XI: Bywater (GK); Bheke, Ramage (C), Perone, Williams; CK Vineeth, Josue, Peter Carvalho, Mehtab Hossain; Mohd Rafi, Dagnall.
NORTHEAST UNITED FC XI: Rehnesh (GK); Hengbart, Reagan, Miguel Garcia (C); Silas, Herrero, Seityasen, Boithang, Hanghal; Velez, Kamara.
6:20 pm: We've got pictures coming in from the fans making their way to the stadium for the big clash.
6 pm: This is set to be a cracker! Two of the Indian Super League teams which command the best fanbase in Indian football gets set for action in an hour from now. Coming all the way from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, it's the home side Kerala Blasters taking on NorthEast United FC in the fourth game of the ISL season 2.
The kick-off is set at 7pm IST. And this is me, Sayantan Maitra (twitter @san_footy), bringing you all the live updates from the game once more, as always. Do join me for the next couple of hours, and as for me, I expect the game to be a cracker of a contest.
The noise levels in the stadium are set to reach crescendo today, that's for sure!
