The fans came out in numbers. The chants came in vociferous waves, both from the Marina Machans and the travelling Manjappada.

The only missing piece of the puzzle was a goal. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium waited with bated breath for the net to ripple. That goal, though threatened to arrive on several occasions, never actually materialised as Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC played out a feisty 0-0 draw in the Indian Super League on Saturday.

Following a first half dominated by the host, Blasters squandered a golden chance when Adrian Luna’s penalty hit the post and went wide in the 51st minute. The spot-kick had come after Irfan Yadwad handled the ball. Luna, however, could not capitalise despite sending Mohammad Nawaz the other way.

Blasters once again challenged Nawaz, this time through Andre Green’s shot from inside the box. The Chennaiyin custodian was up to the task, pulling off a superb diving save.

Emmanuel Imanishimwe tested Amrinder Singh from close range when the ball fell kindly for the CFC defender off a corner.

Irfan thought he found the net and started celebrating when his delightful curler beat Amrinder’s extended hand. The ball, however, could only rattle the woodwork.

The frustration finally boiled over, with CFC’s Emmanuel (second yellow) and KBFC’s Green (straight red) getting sent off in injury time for a heated brawl.

Both teams, after the hard-fought contest, went towards their section of fans in acknowledgement of the celebratory mood. The Southern derby indeed had everything except a goal.

The result: Chennaiyin FC 0 drew with Kerala Blasters FC 0.