ISL 2017/18, Match 75: NorthEast United vs Kerala Blasters, 5 Talking Points

Kerala Blasters are still alive! A 1-0 win away at NorthEast United means that the Blasters bridge the gap with Jamshedpur FC in fourth. Wes Brown's first ever goal in ISL, in his debut season, saw the Blasters pick up all three points and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Here's what stood out from the game:

What the hell was that Vineeth?

CK Vineeth is one of those forwards who has made a career out of being in the right place at the right time to net crucial goals for all of the teams he's turned out for. He isn't the most explosive of strikers, but inside the penalty box, he's got a fine nose for goal.

Which is why, him missing an absolute sitter in this game was such a surprise. It was a hilariously bad attempt from the Kerala man in the 20th minute of the game.

Not once, but twice Vineeth kicked nothing but air, after all he had to, was tap it in from five yards out, with TP Rehenesh scrambling all over the place. The ball bounced nicely for him, but he just could not make any contact with it on both his tries. He would not want to watch that again.

Iain Hume, with his injury, might be getting ready to suit up for the next game.

Nirmal Chettri shows how not to defend

Nirmal Chettri almost scored an own goal. (Photo: ISL)

No game that features Nirmal Chettri is ever boring. He always strives to make bad defensive errors that end up costing his side more often than not.

In this game, he almost scored...for the opposition, that is. That CK Vineeth chance we just discussed, came about because of Nirmal's excellent connection with a Jackichand Singh cross from the right. It was the kind of contact coaches expect from their forwards.

There was absolutely no pressure on him and all he had to do was make a routine clearance. Yet, he connected so well with it that it flew towards goal. Thankfully for NorthEast, it struck the bar. The rebound, however, fell to Vineeth who proceeded to spectacularly mess up a golden opportunity.

Brown the match-winner

Wes Brown came up with the all-important goal. (Photo: ISL)

CK Vineeth was probably the most relieved man out on the pitch in the 28th minute, when Wes Brown put the Blasters ahead with a header.

It came off a set-piece; Jackichand Singh's delivery was a good one, but Brown was given so much space by the NorthEast defence that he could have driven a bus through the goal. It wasn't even a powerful header, he had to merely glance it across the keeper to see it nestle into the corner.

There were plenty of white shirts in the box, but it looked like they had forgotten they had a job to do besides watch Brown score with an easy header.

Where were the fans?

It's surprising to see NorthEast failing to attract the fans this season. (Photo: ISL)

Yes, NorthEast United are not going to be in the final four. Yes, they have been very poor for much of the season. But still, the northeast of India is a hotbed of Indian football and one would have thought that there'd be more people in attendance especially since this was the last home game for them. 1,121 was the official attendance figure for this game.

The change in kick-off time from 7 pm to 8 pm has been mentioned by some of the fans as one reason why numbers have dipped. In the past week, there have been some murmurings about the future of the club itself.

Considering that the recent FIFA U17 World Cup saw good attendance figures in Guwahati, it must be a bit concerning for the club that the fans are not turning up for the club's games in the ISL.

It all went down in stoppage time

The match ended on a rather sour note. (Photo: ISL)

John Mosqueira and Wes Brown fell to the floor after an aerial duel. Mosqueira suddenly got back up like a cat and went to give Brown an earful about what he thought.

Gudjon Baldvinsson came to calm things down and usher Mosqueira away, but got a good old smack in the face from the NorthEast United man for his efforts. This happened right in front of the referee, who then showed only a yellow to Mosqueira. Did he leave his red card in the locker?

Things were getting heated, Avram Grant was on the pitch. No, it was not to show his team how to defend. That saw the referee send him to the stands because, of course, coaches can't enter the field of play.

After the whistle, more NorthEast players surrounded the referee with Holicharan Narzary getting up close in his face, probably wishing him a good night.

Such a sad end to what was NorthEast's final home game of the season. The Highlanders have now lost fourth on the bounce.