ISL 2019-20: Kerala Blasters go down fighting against Mumbai City FC

After the high of winning their first game of the new season, Kerala Blasters were given a reality check, losing to Mumbai City FC by a solitary goal in a Indian Super League 2019-20 match in Kochi. Mumbai took home all three points in an important away fixture by scoring late in the second half. It was the Mumbai team's first win over Kerala Blasters in Kochi.

Tunisian forward Amine Chermiti scored the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute. His teammate Sauvik Chakrabarti sent a low searching cross towards the centre from near the right corner flag, and after two Blasters defenders failed to make contact with the ball, it landed in the path of Chermiti who lapped it up and finished it coolly.

If the Blasters had an overhaul in the summer, Mumbai made plenty of changes to the squad too. Hence, it took some time for Jorge Costa’s players to get into their rhythm and break free of the Blasters’ interceptions. Both teams showed a lack of bite in the final third, and Chermiti’s goal aside, it was a rather uninspiring outing for both sides.

Mumbai was denied a penalty in just the 4th minute when Amine Chermiti was through on goal and Blasters centreback Gianni Zuiverloon shoved him in the back to send the striker tumbling down in the box. Chermiti made the most of it, but the defender was given the benefit of doubt.

Mumbai had the first clear chance in the 10th minute, when a long ball found Diego Carlos in space, whose deflected cross was headed just wide by a lurking Mohamed Larbi. Blasters had a good chance, too, in the 24th minute, when Sergio Cidoncha sent a cross floating into the box, only for Bartholomew Ogbeche to miss the target.

There was a marked difference in the way the Blasters was playing in this game. In the opening fixture, the defence was at sixes and sevens, with it being a new system for them. Also, the injuries did not help. Yet against Mumbai, the confidence with which the defenders circulated the ball was remarkably different. Jeakson Singh in particular, sitting ahead of the central defenders, looks to be growing in confidence after an impressive first game.

But the Blasters were impressive only in the first half. Though Mumbai failed to read the Blasters game initially, their midfielders, led by the hardworking Rowlin Borges, sent searching through balls, some intercepted mostly by Jairo Rodrigues, others ending as failed chances.

In the 40th minute, enterprising Mumbai winger Diego Carlos let fly from the right, outside the box, for keeper Bilal Khan to parry it away for a corner. Khan, standing in for the injured first-choice keeper T.P. Rehenesh, is still a worry for the Blasters though. Just like in the game against ATK, there were some heart-stopping moments when the keeper fumbled with the ball in the box. The Mumbai attackers sensed this, and stepped up the pressure on him every time he got the ball.

The second half started rather dull. It was only in the 53rd minute, when Mohamed Larbi broke free on the left that the half came to life. He drilled a low cross and the ball somehow lands at star striker Modou Sougou’s feet. The striker whacked the ball on his first touch, with the goal mouth wide open, but squandered the chance by hitting it out. With the ball out of play, 19-year-old Kerala winger K.P. Rahul was brought on to loud cheers, replacing the largely ineffective Halicharan Narzary.

Minutes later, Rahul was brought down just outside the box as he advanced on goal. Sarthak Goloui was booked for the challenge. A clear free kick alright, but Rahul’s exaggerated acrobatic somersault after he was pushed, gave everyone, including the ref, a good laugh. The free kick was poor, pushed out to the corner. The corner wasn’t the best either, but after it was cleared, Blasters left back Jessel Carneiro sent a shot from a long way off, rocketing towards goal. It was only inches above a bar, but it could have been one of the goals of the tournament.

The crowd went wild as the next Kerala player was brought on—India national team player Sahal Abdul Samad—as the final ten minutes approached. And then within minutes, they were silenced. The goal came at a time least expected but it was a result of poor defending. Two minutes after the goal, another defending error nearly gifted the Mumbai another goal. A mix-up between Khan and his defender ended up in the two crashing into each other, with Serge Kevyn nearby. The Gabonese striker failed to score into the open net, hitting it across goal instead.

In the fifth and final minute of added time, Sahal displayed his creative side when, in the box, he sent a chest-high pass towards his skipper Ogbeche. The big French striker, who carried his team home in the first game, controlled the ball brilliantly before smashing it on the turn. To his dismay, it headed straight to the Mumbai keeper, who cleared it. The resultant corner was wasted as the referee blew the final whistle.

It may be a disappointing loss for the home team, but it certainly is different from the last time the two teams met. The Mumbai-based side had crushed Blasters 6-1 in the last game of the league stage last year. Both teams are significantly different this year, and bolstered by good signings, will be hoping to go far in the tournament. Mumbai City ended its campaign last season by losing to FC Goa in the playoffs. The credit for that run, and for this victory, goes rightly to the coach Jorge Costa, who has changed the fortunes of the side since his appointment in 2018.

Blasters coach Eelco Schattorie, though, will have to take a long hard look at how to circumvent the injuries in his squad to resurrect the side. Ahead of the opening fixture against ATK, Schattorie expressed his frustration with the fixtures, lamenting that the team’s next opponent Mumbai City FC would have an opportunity to analyse Schattorie’s side, but he wouldn’t as it is Mumbai’s first game.

The Kochi crowd turned up in numbers (28,445), but not like the opening game. There is little doubt how much the Kerala team relies on its home support to deliver. When the first few games last season failed to impress the Manjappada in Kochi, the numbers started to dwindle, as did the performances. Kerala won only one game at home last season, as opposed to the years when they reached the finals (2014 and 2016) when they lost only one game. Schattorie will certainly need that kind of support to give this team new hope.