Pratik Chaudhari scored the all-important goal in the second half as Jamshedpur FC beat Kerala Blasters FC to break the Kochi-based team's six-game unbeaten streak against them in an Indian Super League match in Jamshedpur on Sunday.
The win helped the home team jump to fourth spot from eighth in the standings with 21 points from 12 matches.
Kerala Blasters FC took time to settle down into a rhythm with their first proper goal-scoring opportunity coming in the 30th minute through an exemplary effort from Noah Sadaoui.
Naocha Singh launched a long ball for Noah, lurking at the edge of the left side of the 18-yard box. The attacker brought the ball down with a deft first touch. He made a creative cross from the outside of his boot for Kwame Peprah at the centre of the box.
Peprah had ample time to head the ball in, but his aerial effort was directed high and wide to the right of the target.
Kerala Blasters FC began the second half on the front foot, and Naocha almost broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute with a thunderous shot from outside the 18-yard box on the left side after receiving a pass from Noah.
Naocha backed his instincts to test his luck from distance and it required a diving Albino Gomes to save the shot on the bottom left corner.
Jamshedpur FC found the eventual breakthrough from a powerful shot taken by defender Pratik Chaudhari in the 61st minute.
The Kerala Blasters unit made repeated attempts to clear a cross earned by Jamshedpur FC, but Chaudhari pounced upon a loose ball and netted it into the bottom left corner to score only his third ISL goal, and first since December 2021.
Seiminlen Doungel came on as a substitute for Imran Khan in the 72nd minute, and made some startling efforts from outside of the box, once each in the 80th and 88th minutes.
However, both shots were wayward but the effort ensured that Kerala Blasters FC were pushed back in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Jamshedpur FC will play their next match against Bengaluru FC on January 4, while Kerala Blasters FC are set to feature against Punjab FC on January 5.
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