KOCHI: After many seasons in the footballing wilderness where they were primarily fighting to avoid the wooden spoon, Kerala Blasters are within touching distance of a semifinal spot in the Indian Super League.
The task at hand was to beat defending champions Mumbai City FC in the penultimate game of the league stage and the yellow brigade held their nerve in a dramatic and nervy 3-1 win over Des Buckingham's side at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Wednesday.
The win helps them leapfrog Mumbai into the fourth spot with a two-point cushion. Destiny is in their own hands now going into the final league game against FC Goa and even a point should be enough to seal a passage to the semifinal.
It will be the first time since 2016 that Blasters will appear in the play-offs as Ivan Vukomanovic's side continue to exceed expectations this season.
After a brilliant opening goal from India international Sahal Abdul Samad, two goals from Alvaro Vazquez all but sealed three points.
There was a late flurry from Mumbai as Diego Mauricio scored from the penalty spot but Blasters held their nerve to seal an all-important victory.
The win helped them do a double over the Islanders, and more importantly, take a huge step towards qualification.
For such a high stakes game, they didn't have the services of senior defender Harmanjot Khabra who was handed a two-match ban for dangerous play in the match against Hyderabad FC.
And despite Mumbai's wayward form this season, they have a star-studded team with proven matchwinners.
Their head coach Buckingham had suggested that his side will stick to their approach of playing their brand of attacking football.
However, once the match got underway, Blasters looked the better side from start to finish and better at handling the high pressure moments.
Sahal gave his side the crucial lead in the 19th minute thanks to a brilliant solo effort. The young attacking midfielder wiggled past the Mumbai defence before coolly slotting the ball past Mohamad Nawaz from just outside the box.
Right before half-time, Mumbai conceded a soft penalty as skipper Mourtada Fall clipped Vazquez inside the box even though the contact looked minimal.
The Spaniard stepped up and coolly finished to give his side a 2-0 lead going into half-time.
It was all over when a costly error from Nawaz saw Vazquez score a third. At the hour mark, Fall attempted to clip the ball back to his keeper. Nawaz's attempt to clear the ball went awfully wrong as he scuffed his
shot and the ball fell to Vazquez who simply tapped it in.
The pressure was starting to tell on Mumbai although they were handed a lifeline with Mauricio's 71st-minute penalty. However, Blasters held on to secure a famous victory.
While the pressure is piling on Buckingham as he inherited a side that had won the shield and cup last season but is on the verge of failing to finish inside the top four, the stocks of Vukomanic continues to rise with each passing game as he is leading a redemption at Blasters.