The Southern derby between Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters ended in a hard-fought goalless stalemate as both teams now face bleak odds of making the playoffs in the ongoing edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).
The southern giants, desperate for a win in their backyard at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium yesterday, could not score a goal despite fashioning several chances to do so. With points shared between the two teams, defending champions Chennaiyin climb to a lacklustre eighth in the league with just five points from nine matches they have played so far, while Kerala remain a spot above Chennaiyin with eight points.
The home team started the high-voltage fixture with clear intent and created a couple of good chances within the first six minutes of the opening whistle.
Eventually, the half ended in stalemate as both the teams failed to open their account in the first half of the contest after playing out a cagey affair.
In the second-half, Kerala started controlling possession and almost made it count when Keziron Kizito did brilliantly to find Sahal Abdul Samad inside the box. The youngster's shot, however, was kept out by Chennaiyin custodian Sanjiban Ghosh.
The home team soon gained momentum with Raphael making things happen for them in attack but none of the teams was able to find the back of the net as the contest ended in a 0-0 draw.