Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Wednesday continued their incredible run of form in the Indian Super League with a 4-3 victory against Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
The Blasters were dealt with only their second loss in their last 10 games at home as the Mariners jumped to 39 points, level with the first-placed Mumbai City FC.
Fresh from the Kolkata Derby where they netted thrice in the first half, the Antonio Lopez Habas-coached side picked off and carried on that momentum, drawing first blood in the fourth minute with a solo effort by Albanian striker Armando Sadiku.
The striker then fended off a challenge from former Mohun Bagan Super Giant defender Pritam Kotal to get past the home team backline and strike the ball sweetly into the back of the net. At three minutes and 36 seconds, this was the fastest goal that the Mariners have ever scored against Kerala Blasters, and it was their fifth-quickest overall in the competition’s history.
The game stayed as it is for the following 50 minutes, with neither sides creating clear cut chances that could cause complications to the opposition. However, what followed was a frenetic second half, seeing a total of six goals across the final 40-odd minutes.
Vibin Mohanan got the scoring underway in the second half to draw Kerala Blasters level. The midfielder played a one-two with Rahul KP before side-footing the ball into the back of the net.
Impressively, both teams had their talismanic forwards elevating their game as the game progressed. The visitors regained their lead in the 60th minute with Sadiku once again on target. Dimitrios Petratos’ free-kick from the right was headed down towards Sadiku by Manvir Singh. The Albanian striker reacted quickly to volley the ball into goal.
Dimitrios Diamantakos drew the Blasters level in the 63rd minute putting Fedor Cernyc’s pass past Vishal Kaith in the Mohun Bagan goal.
The Mariners once again took the lead in the 71st minute as Deepak Tangri ghosted in from the back post to direct Petratos’ corner kick into goal. The match swung both ways, and the drama didn’t simmer down until the added time of the second half.
The Blasters kept hunting for another equaliser leaving them vulnerable at the back. Liston Colaco had a good opportunity to settle the match after being played through on goal. However, Karamjit Singh rushed out to close him down before Marko Leskovic acrobatically blocked Jason Cummings’ shot at goal.
Cummings got his goal in the 97th minute from another counter. The Blasters still had time to pull a goal back as Diamantakos headed in Emmanuel Justine’s cross in the ninth minute of added time.