Late strikes from Nestor Albiach and Jithin Madathil helped NorthEast United beat Kerala Blasters on Saturday. The ISL contest held at NEUFC's Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium witnessed Spaniard Albiach scoring in the 84th minute before Jithin sealed the win one minute into added time.
Ishan Pandita and Nihal Sudeesh started for KBFC in the absence of league top-scorer Dimitrios Diamantakos. Although the Kochi outfit managed 14 shots, one more than the opposition, they couldn't beat the goalkeeper. KBFC, who were the league leaders midseason, is winless in their last five outings.
With 30 points from 21 games, KBFC are fifth in the table while seventh-placed NEUFC have 23 points from 20.
