Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
Mumbai City FC returned to the top of the Indian Super League standings with two early goals to beat Kerala Blasters on Saturday night.
After taking all three points against Hyderabad FC, much was expected from the team which had shown signs of improvement. However, it was the night of the Islanders.
Kerala Blasters head coach Kibu made two changes to the starting line-up from the previous win. Costa came back from injury and replaced Abdul Hakku at the back while Puitea replaced Rahul KP.
The game started with Costa giving away a penalty in the 2nd minute itself due to a sloppy back pass by Vicente Gomez. Adam Le Fondre calmly hit the penalty as the ball went through the legs of Albino Gomez.
Thereafter Kerala Blasters started attacking and pressing soon after but again conceded another goal due to poor positioning by its defenders as Hugo Boumous scored the goal through an exceptional Ahmed Jahouh long ball clearance.
Both sides kept on their attacking mode for the rest of the first session, but chances were wasted at both ends with Bipin Singh for Mumbai City FC and Sahal Abul Samad for Kerala Blasters the biggest culprits for their sides.
The second half was no different as Kerala Blasters continued their attacking and pressing gameplan. However, similar to the first half the team failed to convert their chances even when the Mumbai City defence looked sloppy at times. Puitea was replaced by Rahul KP on the pitch in the 61st minute of the game. In the 70th minute, Sandeep Singh gave away a penalty for a foul on Hugo Boumos which was later saved by keeper Albino Gomes, the only positive point on an overall sad night.
Vicente Gomez tried to reduce the deficit in the 76th minute as he struck a volley on the turn towards an empty goal from outside the box only to be denied as the ball hit the crossbar after a finger tip save from Amrinder Singh.
Seityasen Singh replaced Sahal in the 80th minute and immediately had an impact as he delivered a beautiful low cross inside the box, however, it did not materialize as our attackers failed to get on the end of it. Givson Singh replaced Vicente Gomez on the pitch in the 86th Minute for the team’s third substitution of the match.
In the end, Mumbai City FC walked away with a 2-0 win over Kerala Blasters.
