As it happened: Kerala Blasters vs Mumbai City

A last minute goal from Pranjal Bhumij helps Mumbai earn its first point of the season, though Kerala dominated most of the game.

Updated : Oct 05, 2018 22:23 IST

Kerala Blasters fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Kerala Blasters fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
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Kerala Blasters fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

 

FULL TIME Mumbai has found the equaliser in the final minutes of added time and has snatched a point in Kochi. David James won't be pleased with that as Kerala was on top for most of the game but there's nothing he can do about it. It was a thumping strike that levelled the proceedings at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. What was almost a second win for Kerala in two games has turned into Mumbai's first point of this season. KERALA BLASTERS 1 - 1 MUMBAI CITY FC.

90' + 3' GOAAAAAAL! MUMBAI has equalised! The substitute Pranjal Bhumij as scored a screamer. He smashed it home from outside the box and Dheeraj Singh had no chance of saving that. Thunderbolt!

90' + 1' Dheeraj Singh comes out, again, but this time he punches it out for a corner. Time's running out for Mumbai and it can't capatilise.

90' Five minutes of time have been added here.

90' The last minute of normal time and Kerala, as it started the game, is on the attack with Mumbai trying to maintain its defensive line.

89' The referee gives Dheeraj Singh a yellow card.

 

88' Dreeraj comes out but misses the ball again, which falls to Modou Sougou who volleys it wide of the goal. Should've scored there.

86' Sehnaj Singh is on the ground now. Looks like cramps. He receives some treatment before limping off the pitch.

84' Dheeraj Singh goes to the ground trying to get to pick a ball from the air. The referee, rightfully, doesn't give a foul for Dhreeaj but Mumbiai fails to take advantage of the keeper being off his line. The referee eventually blows his whistle for a foul for Kerala. Dheeraj is on the ground receiving treatment but looks okay to carry on.

80' A third change for Mumbai sees Sanju Pradhan replace Arnold.

79' Arnold runs in to get to the end of a pass but Sandesh Jhingan pops up and heads it out. Brave defending from the center back!

76' Keziron goes on a good run before Mirabaje stops him with a sliding tackle.

STAT In the last fifteen minutes of the game, since November 2017, Kerala has scored eight times while Mumbai has conceded ten. 

74' It is Mohammad Rakip's turn to show off his physical strength as he guides the ball out for a goalkick, under pressure from Bhumij.

73' Kerala wins a freekick after Pekuson is fouled by Goian but Kerala is in no hurry to put it into the box. They pass it around, content with keeping the tempo of the game down.

72' Jorge Costa and the referee have a discussion at the touchline, probably about some decision that the Mumbai coach disagreed with. Like all coaches do.

69' A change for both teams. Keziron is the third substitute for Kerala and he replaces Sahal Abdul Samad. For Mumbai, Bhumij replaces Raynier Fernandes.

67' Jhingan's physical challenge on Bastos to win the ball gets the crowd roaring. He brings the ball out of the defence but the Brazilian is on the floor and the referee stops play.

66' A mix-up in the Mumbai defence allows Stojanovic to turn at the edge of the box and shoot, but his curler goes wide of the goal.

65' Mumbai makes its first change of the night. Machado is replaced by Mirabaje.

63' Raynier Fernandes releases Arnold on the right wing. He gets into the box and tried to find the near post but it goes wide of the goal. Should've cut that back to a teammate instead.

61' A second change for Kerala. Courage Pekuson comes on for Matej Poplatnik.

59' The resulting corner is turned into a counter-attack by Mumbai but Sandesh Jhingan, who has been a rock in Kerala's defence, clears with ease.

58' Goain tries to clear a ball and it goes out for a corner. Could have been a lot more trouble for Mumbai as that clearance almost looped into his own net.

55' The final ball lets down Mumbai again. Shouvik Ghosh finds himself in the Kerala box but his cross is poor and is easily cleared.

53' A break in play allows Kerala to make that substitution. Seminlen Doungel is replaced by C.K.Vineeth.

52' C.K.Vineeth is warming up on the sidelines. Looks like he will be the first substitution for Kerala.

51' Goian is frustrated as Doungel finds his way with ease into the Mumbai box and finds Seminlen Doungel, whose shot goes well over the goal.

47' A different half but the same story. Kerala on the front foot and wins a corner, but the ball sails into Amrinder Singh's hands.

46' Kerala gets the second half underway.

HALF TIME Kerala Blasters go into the break with the lead, thanks to Holicharan Narzary's 25th minute strike. Mumbai finds itself a goal down for the second game running. It is yet to score a goal this season, while it has conceded three. Kerala, on the other hand, has conceded none and scored thrice. Will the second half be any better for The Islanders? We'll know in fifteen minutes.

45' + 1' Lucian Goian with a crunching tackle on Seminlen Doungel. It's a fair one and Kerala has a throw-in, but the referee blows the whistle for half time.

45' One minute of time added.

44' Poplatnik goes to the ground on the edge of the Kerala box but the referee waves play on. The Slovenian doesn't agree with the referee, understandably.

41' Souvik Chakraborty manages to find space behind Lalruatthara but his cross is cleared with ease. The few times Mumbai has found space behind the Kerala defence, the final ball has let it down.

39' Kerala hasn't let Mumbai have a decent chance at goal since it took the lead. The Islanders must be hoping for the half time whistle to regroup and come back better in the second half.

36' A Mumbai freekick sails over the box and Goain turns his back to the ball thinking the ball had gone out of play, but Mohammad Rakip kept the ball in, to Goain's surprise, but the counter-attack is quickly snuffed out.

 

34' Paulo Machado releases Arnold, who gets in behind the Kerala defence but his pass across the goal is gathered easily by Dheeraj Singh.

32' It is Poplatnik's turn to take a shot at the Mumbai goal but the ball sails well wide of the goal.

30' The goal has Kerala playing with a lot of confidence while Mumbai seems bereft of ideas.

27' Matej Poplatnik receives a yellow card for a foul on Nkufo Arnold. Mumbai has a freekick in a good position but the cross is poor and the chance goes waste.

25' GOAL! KERALA BLASTERS takes the lead! Holicharan Narzary scores for Kerala but the build-up play to the goal was exquisite. Seiminlen Doungel with a cheeky backheel to Matej Poplatnik, who sets up Narzary for the goal. Amrinder Singh had no chance of saving that!

23' Goian defends well but concedes a corner, but the referee fails to see that he got the last touch and gives a goalkick instead.

20' Modou Sougou is in the middle of all the action now. First he has a touchline argument with David James and later wins a freekick, which is headed wide by Goian.

 

18' Seminlen Doungel gets behind the Mumbai defence easily but his cross is easily cleared. That's not the first time he has run free behind The Islanders' defence tonight.

17' Seconds later, a long range attempt from Mumbai forces Dheeraj to make a good save. He is up for the challenge!

17' Dheeraj Singh with a Neuer-esque run out of his box to head away a long ball from Mumbai!

13' A good counter from Kerala sees Matej Poplatnik release Slavisa Stojanovic but the Lucian Goian recovers to block his shot.

STAT Kerala has taken 22 shots this season, the most of all teams.

12' Sahal Abdul Samad has a chance to release Slavisa Stojanovic but holds on to the ball too long and his pass gets intercepted.

11' Mumbai has a freekick but Lucian Goian's ball sails straight into Dheeraj Sing's gloves.

8' Lalruatthara wins Kerala a corner but it comes to nothing.

6' Both teams eager to carve out the opening goal but unable to put together enough passes to put together a meaningful attack.

5' Five minutes in and we have the first booking of the game. Kerala's Nemanja Lakic-Pesic goes into the book for a late foul.

4' A good attack from Mumbai and it was so close to the first goal of the game! Holicharan Narzary puts in a ball across the face of the goal but Amrinder Singh saves well from Seminlen Doungel and the Mumbai defence cleares the ball.

2' Nikola Krcmarevic wins a freekick for Kerala but it is well cleared by the Mumbai defense.

1' The first long ball of the night comes from Mumbai City FC but Dheeraj Singh claims it with ease.

1' We have kickoff at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium! Kerala Blasters playing in a special yellow kit and Mumbai City FC in its traditional blue kit.

‣ Kerala Blasters is wearing a special jersey today to honour the fishermen who played a big role in the rescue operations during the recent floods in Kerala. (REPORT)

‣ Kerala Blasters' captain Sandesh Jhingan will be making his 60th appearance in the Indian Super League tonight - the most by any player, surpassing Iain Hume and Mandar Dessai.

 

Starting line-ups

Kerala Blasters: Dheeraj Singh (GK), Mohammad Rakip, Sandesh Jhingan, Nemanja Lakic-Pesic, Lalruatthara, Nikola Krcmarevic, Sieminlen Doungel, Halicharan Narzary, Sahal Abdul Samad, Matej Poplatnik, Slavisla Stojanovic

Mumbai City: Amrinder Singh (GK), Shouvik Ghosh, Subhasish Bose, Lucian Goian, Sauvik Chakrabarti, Arnold Issoko, Raynier Fernandes, Sehnaj Singh, Paulo Machado, Modou Sougou, Rafael Bastos

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Kerala made a winning start to its 2018-19 season, beating ATK 2-0 in Kolkata on the opening day, and will take the field today with that confidence. The visitor, on the other hand, lost at home by the same margin to Jamshedpur FC and the objective will be to not fall to two consecutive defeats. The atmosphere at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be electric and is likely to be a factor in the end-result.

Read our in-depth preview of the match here .

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