Kerala Blasters punished Mumbai City for its defensive errors and kept its unbeaten streak at home intact with a 2-0 win at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium here on Sunday.
Egged on by the biggest crowd of the season, Kerala Blasters latched on to the chances and killed the contest by the end of the first half.
Blasters’ striker Dimitrios Dimantakos scored his sixth goal of the season to put the home side ahead in the 12th minute. The striker then turned provider for Kwame Peprah to double the lead during the stoppage time of the first half.
The failure to defend with authority led to the first Blasters goal.
AS IT HAPPENED: Kerala Blasters vs Mumbai City FC Highlights
Peprah, after receiving a through ball from the middle, easily beat his marker John Griffiths, who pulled his hamstring and went down. The Ghanaian moved into the box from the left and his cut-back found an unmarked Dimantakos. The striker showed good control to beat Jayesh Rane’s late challenge and toed the ball in for the opening goal.
Mumbai regrouped and Rane rattled the Kerala Blasters defence with a long ranger in the 22nd minute, which hit the woodwork.
The visitor then served up good attacking combinations through Bipin Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte along either flank. But Blasters held its shape.
The host scored the second goal against the tide when a bout of passing between Peprah and Dimitrios resulted in the former finding the net. Blasters played percentage football in the second half to inflict the first defeat for Mumbai City this season.
With the win, Blasters moved to second with 23 points while the Islanders stayed fourth with 19 points.
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