BENGALURU: KERALA Blasters came back from a goal down to beat Bengaluru FC 2-1 in a dramatic finish at the GMC Stadium on Sunday. After Cleiton Silva scored the opener for Naushad Moosa’s men, two second-half strikes from Lalthathanga Khawlhring and Rahul KP helped the Yellow Army register their third win of the season. It is Bengaluru’s fifth loss in their last six games while Kerala have collected seven points from their last three.
Bengaluru FC started the game on a bright note, as Erik Paartalu had a shot on target inside the first minute of the contest. In fact, Kerala got a decent chance to take the lead in the 15th minute of the game when Costa Nhamoinesu's attempt went over the crossbar.
But, Bengaluru FC forward Silva ensured that he did not miss the target when a chance came by. The Brazilian was at the receiving end of a long throw in from Rahul Bheke, and Silva showed some great technique with his volley to keep the ball down and find the back of the net in the 24th minute. That goal gave them further confidence as they pressed further to double their lead. They almost achieved it via Sunil Chettri's free-kick just before the break. Kerala goalkeeper Albino Gomes made a good save to keep them in the game.
Despite chances in the first half, Kerala did not have any shots on target to show for their efforts. They were eager to change that in the second 45. They looked good and enjoyed decent possession in the first 10 minutes, but lacked that cutting edge in the final third.
However, they finally managed to score the all-important equaliser in the 73rd minute via Khawlhring in a controversial situation. After Hooper’s shot was blocked by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who went down because of the impact of the shot, the ball rolled towards the right hand side. The resultant cross was finished from close range even as Sandhu was down.
With both teams in search of a winning goal, the final few minutes saw some box to box action. And it was Rahul who struck late in the 94th minute with a wonderful finish to take home three points. Just before that goal, Bengaluru hit the post at the other end, but a solid counter attack from Kerala led to the deciding goal.