MUMBAI: Mumbai City handed Kerala Blasters their first defeat of the season, as the reigning ISL Shield champions pulled off a 2-1 win on a humid evening here at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday.
A lacklustre first half witnessed a thrilling finale when Jorge Pereyra Diaz rode a bit of luck to score his fourth goal of the season and put the Islanders ahead. Kerala responded in the 57th minute through a Danish Farooq header, but the hosts were not to be denied and retook the lead when Apuia punished some sloppiness in the Kerala defence, earning Mumbai their first home win of the new ISL season.
Both teams had a couple of changes to the lineups that started their previous games. Mumbai had Mehtab Singh coming in for Tiri in defence and Dutch signing Yoell van Nieff replacing Vinit Rai in midfield. For Blasters, Mohammed Aimen and Ghanaian Kwame Peprah made way for Vibin Mohanan and Greek forward Diamantakos Dimitrios.
When the two teams met here last season, the game was effectively over by the 22nd minute, with Mumbai 4-0 up. With International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and FSDL chairperson Nita Ambani in attendance, the first half on Sunday showed Blasters had clearly learnt their lessons from that humbling defeat in January. The visitors were effective in stifling the free-flowing play Mumbai fans have grown accustomed to seeing from their side under Des Buckingham.
If anything, the half really kicked into life in the dying minutes, as Mumbai grabbed the lead. Captain Rahul Bheke's pass took a deflection off a Blasters defender on its way into the box. Goalkeeper Sachin Suresh's attempt to clear the danger resulted in the ball rebounding off an unwitting Pritam Kotal, leaving Jorge Pereyra Diaz to tap home. It was just the kind of fortune that has eluded Mumbai in their Champions League battles, and one of the easiest goals Diaz must have ever scored.
There was still time for some more drama before the half-time whistle when Mumbai took a quick free-kick that could very likely have reopened some Kerala scars still healing from last season's controversial playoff loss to Bengaluru. To the relief of the visitors, Lallianzuala Chhangte's left-footed effort rolled narrowly wide.
The second half began with Blasters coming close to an equaliser through Diamantakos's unsuccessful attempt to volley home Adrian Luna's cross from the left. Mumbai should have sensed the danger from that flank as only three minutes later, Sandeep Singh, who had come on late in the first half for an injured Aibanbha Dohling, whipped in a precise cross for Danish Farooq to slip between Mehtab Singh and Akash Mishra and nod past Phurba Lachenpa, bringing Blasters level.
The evening, however, seemed destined to belong to the home side, judging by the manner in which they regained the lead. Kerala's Pritam Kotal failed to deal with an aerial ball after Diaz's attempted pass into the box, allowing an alert Apuia to jump high and head Mumbai back in front. Even Bach could not resist joining in the applause the Mumbai midfielder's effort drew from the West Coast Brigade.
The Islanders would hold on as tempers spilled over in the final minutes, with the two sides trading some testy tackles, leading to red cards awarded to both, van Nieff and Kerala's Montenegrin defender Milos Drincic.
Mumbai's second win of the campaign propelled them to second in the table with 7 points, while Blasters, who have six points, now occupy fourth spot.
