Kerala Blasters manager David James might have been nervously counting down after the 90th minute of Thursday’s contest against NorthEast United. His team was leading 1-0 and was at the cusp of ending a six-match winless streak in this Indian Super League season.
Then, in the next six minutes, he witnessed madness, two dramatic goals and the third straight defeat of the season for his side.
In the 93rd minute, after six extra minutes were added to the match time, Blasters’ skipper Sandesh Jhingan, inside his box, pushed Juan Mascia, who fell and earned his team a crucial penalty. Bartholomew Ogbeche netted his seventh goal of the season to equalise for his team.
Three minutes later, Mascia, after receiving a pass from Rowllin Borges inside the box, unleashed a strike from the right that Blasters ‘keeper Dheeraj Singh couldn’t get his hands to.
NorthEast United’s first win on home soil sees them rise to third on the table with 14 points from seven matches, while Kerala remain at the seventh spot with seven points from eight matches.
The hosts took control of the match early on and knocked on the doors of the Kerala defence. In the 10th minute, a Federico Gallego corner-kick that wasn’t properly cleared by Poplatnik at the near-post fell to Ogbeche whose free header was brilliantly saved by Dheeraj Singh in goal.
At the other end, Halicharan Narzary managed to beat his marker on the left flank and picked out an unmarked Seiminlen Doungel in the centre of the box but the Indian forward headed glaringly wide.
NorthEast United centre-back Mislav Komorski was next in line to send a free header wide, this time from Lalthathanga Khawlhring’s cross.
Kerala came close to scoring against the run of play before the break. Narzary beat Robert Lalthlamuana in the box and chipped the ball over an onrushing Pawan Kumar but the woodwork denied the Indian forward.
After the change of ends, Kerala Blasters brought on CK Vineeth at the hour-mark as David James sought a spark in the attacking third and the go-to player almost delivered a few minutes after taking the field. The forward received the ball on the edge of the box and unleashed a dipping shot that missed the target by inches.
Kerala finally broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute through Zakeer Mundampara’s corner-kick. The midfielder’s delivery to the near post was headed into the net by Poplatnik who had drifted away from his marker.
But little did the visitors know that there was to be a late knockout punch from NorthEast as the home side completed a stirring comeback in front of their fans.