Match Report: Late equalizer makes it mission impossible for Kerala, Mumbai in semis race
MUMBAI CITY DEFENCE got caught sleeping towards the end and allowed Kerala Blasters to steal an equalizer at the death of the game. This squandered the home team's lead and saw the match end in a 1-1 draw that has practically destroyed either team's chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Anelka finally decided to bench himself and was one of the four players from the previous game's starting XI to be dropped. Re-introduced into the Mumbai City line-up were Lalchhuan Mawia, Aitor Fernandez, Subash Singh and the all-important Sony Norde who got his first start since re-joining the squad after national duty for Haiti.
Kerala Blasters coach Terry Phelan decided to surprise the home team by handing season debuts to two players who have spent a long time playing for teams in Mumbai; Deepak Mondal and goalkeeper Sandip Nandy. Apart from them, Joao Coimbra was also recalled into the first eleven.
With Anelka absent, the Mumbai City attack suddenly seemed to magically regain its flow. They had 3 Indians up front; Chhetri back as the number 10, Saran Singh minding the right flank and Sony Norde the left with Subash Singh ahead; but Subash and Sony were seen to be changing positions rather effortlessly, creating trouble for the Kerala defence early on.
An early run by Subash up the left saw him find Sunil with a well-placed cross. But Sandesh was there to clear Sunil's shot. Then it was Norde who got the ball in the midfield, made a quick run with the ball, then let fly from the distance but the ball had a lot of pace in it; it just about missed the upper corner of the post otherwise it could have landed Sandip in trouble.
Kerala made a good move in reply; Coimbra, Josue and German moved up in tandem but the final shot, taken from a bit far, was wide.
Mumbai City's pacy midfield was pushing the Blasters a bit too hard so they tried to keep most of the ball and slow things down. But it didn't seem to be working as a barrage of Mumbai attacks saw the pressure slowly build on the visitors.
A pass from Cristian Bustos saw Chhetri run straight ahead with Sandesh trailing him. Sunil passed the ball to Aitor whose faulty attempt at sending the ball forward sent it out of play. Chhetri again pushed ahead, passing it to Norde who fed Subash but Deepak was at hand to make the block.
Then came the precious move that eventually resulted in the home team finding the crucial first goal. Sony Norde fed Sunil, who passed it to Subash. The latter let fly and Sandip Nandy made a great diving save, palming the ball out for a corner. But his troubles were just beginning.
Sony Norde stepped up to take the corner, and he delivered one of his lethal curlers similar to the one that won the I-League for Mohun Bagan. This time, Sandip was alert. He punched the ball away. But it went to Juan Aguilera. The Spanish medio took the shot. It was going straight towards Sandip. But unfortunately for the ex Mahindra United keeper, a defender's flawed attempt at a clearance saw the ball take a slight deflection, but it was enough to take the ball well out of his reach. He stood and watched as the ball found the net. Mumbai City had found their much needed lead.
Kerala tried to pull back. German tried to find Chris Dagnall but his shot went to Subrata Paul. Then Dagnall made a run for another long ball, which Pavel managed to clear. Then Josue's through ball found Dagnall in lots of space inside the box with only Subrata ahead. The keeper rushed out, he managed to push Dagnall to an angle but went down trying to close down on him. But by that time Pavel had arrived for help. When Dagnall managed to take the shot, Czech defender was there to clear from the goal-line.
After that the things sort of went quieter and the players chose to see the half out. A couple of chances came for both teams. Aguilera's through ball to Sony saw Sandip Nandy run out and claim the ball from a difficult position. Then Josue Currais sent in a long ranger that Subrata had to be alert to slap away.
The half ended with Mumbai City leading 1-0. While the home team definitely was the smoother of the two in the first half, Kerala got their chances too. They just did not manage to test Mumbai defence with the periods of pressure their opponents managed to build time and again. However, there was a visible sense of the visitors being defense-heavy; and they would have to drop that and go all-out on the offsensive if they are to chase this game down in the second half. And when they started the second half, some of that urgency showed in their game.
In the very first minute a high ball reached Dagnall deep inside Mumbai half. He passed it to German who pulled the trigger but missed the target by inches.
Meanwhile, Subrata Paul had injured himself while trying to make a save. He eventually could not continue playing the match, and Debjit Majumder replaced him.
Deepak Mondal moved ahead. He sent in a good cross for Antonio German whose shot once again was off by whiskers.
Kerala attacked again, as Dagnall fed German who forwarded it to Coimbra but the latter could not get a proper hold on the ball and the opportunity went begging.
The waves of attacks were now coming from Kerala. Mumbai tried to swim against that tide, as Chhetri sent a good ball to Saran Singh who took the shot on first touch but Sandip Nandy made the save.
Then Norde ran up the left flank and exchanged the ball with Subash Singh, in the end feeding Suni Chhetri whose shot got blocked.
When Antonio German tried to make a run Pavel Cmovs brought him down with a harsh tackle and the referee booked him.
Joao Coimbra made way for Mohammad Rafi as the match went past 70 minutes. Kerala were looking to switch to a more aggressive posture, but it didn't seem to be phasing the Mumbai defence any more, who had by then regained their command over their own half of the pitch after that spell of onslaught.
Sony, Sunil and Subash were constantly making trouble up front. One of their attacks saw Pulga manage to clear it, then build a counter which saw German reach the Mumbai box but Cmovs was once again at hand to clear his shot.
At this point, Kerala brought in C.K. Vineeth for Josue Currais, making it 7 Indians on the pitch. Mumbai made a substitution too; Saran Singh was replaced by Keegan Pereira after the former got injured. Anelka further decided to replace Sony Norde with Frederic Piquionne to inject fresh legs in the attack for the last fre minutes. Kerala also made their third change, bringing on Bruno Perone to replace Mehtab Hossain.
And just when it looked like the match had died down, in the last minutes it came back alive again in a frenzy. The Mumbai City defence was caught napping when Subash Singh's attempted clearance fell to the feet of Antonio German, who was unmarked. Nobody rushed to block his way. In fact, all the Mumbai defenders were standing nearly still on their feet when German let fly towards the goal on first touch. It hit the far post and went straight in. Kerala had drawn level on the 89th minute. And just like that, through an anti-climactic defensive error, Mumbai City's campaign died an early death.
Both teams tried to get a second goal. A Chhetri cross to Cristian saw the latter take a crack at the goal but Nandy saved it. Then Kerala rushed in, with German feeding Perone, but his shot went above the target.
Then Kerala Blasters found the net. Dagnall's shot on goal got blocked by Debjit but reached Bruno who slotted it in. But Dagnall was already flagged offside by the linesman and the goal did not stand.
And that was it. The match ended in a 1-1 stalemate that has potentially thrown both these teams out of contention for a semi-final berth. Mumbai and Kerala continue to occupy the 7th and 8th spot on the table, with 13 and 12 points respectively, having played 12 matches each. At this point, even if they manage to win both their remaining games, their qualification for the playoffs will be subject to a labyrinth of permutations. Suffices to say this much: tentatively, if either of these teams are to have a sliver of a chance to make it to the top 4, NorthEast, Chennai and Pune must not win a single match from here on. The odds of that happening is next to none.
It was a repeat of the past mistake for Mumbai City. Even against Delhi, they had similarly turned off in the last minutes of the game, which allowed Robin Singh to slot one in. Something similar happened tonight. That's 4 points dropped by their own mistake. So they can't complain now if that deficit comes back to bite them.
For Kerala, they played under pressure for the most of the game, playing catch up with the swift Mumbai City attack. They got a draw, which in usual circumstances, could have been a good result. But tonight, a win was desperately needed, and they never looked like a side that could snatch it. They fell short and they should accept it and start preparing for the next year because this campaign is over for them.
That last sentence goes for Mumbai City as well, by the way.
