As he watched substitute Pranjal Bhumij’s rising shot float in and the wild celebrations in the Mumbai City camp, David James looked shell-shocked. The Kerala Blasters head coach slumped into his chair.
Blasters were playing their first game at home in the Indian Super League’s season five and this was a match that they could have easily won by a three-goal margin. But in the end, there was only a draw as Bhumij, a 19-year-old from Assam, found the equaliser in the third minute of injury time. Another Assam player, Holicharan Narzary, had given the Blasters the lead in the 24th minute.
Fresher, fitter and faster, Blasters dominated proceedings, moving the ball around well, frequently finding a way forward through the left. The side was quick with counterattacks too. Narzary, who was quite active on the left, sent a cross to Seiminlen Doungel inside the box, raising hopes of a goal. But the alert Mumbai goalkeeper Amrinder Singh stopped Doungel’s shot from close range.
Blasters’ opening goal came 20 minutes later. After some action on the right, Stojanovic found the ball coming his way. He rushed in, but with a defender buzzing around him, the Serbian forward found Narzary free on the left and passed it to him. The 24-year-old midfielder made no mistake with a left-footer that beat Amrinder and went into the near corner.
The young Blasters goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh was quite impressive at the other end, producing some wonderful saves.
Blasters came close to scoring another goal in the 66th minute but Stojanovic’s attempt, from outside the box, was just wide of the far post. Hungry for more goals, Blasters put more men in front. This saw Mumbai come up with a number of counterattacks but the host defenders regrouped to thwart their efforts.
Just when Blasters appeared ready to take full points came Bhumij’s long-ranger broke their hearts.
The result: Kerala Blasters 1 (Holicharan Narzary 24) drew with Mumbai City 1 (Pranjal Bhumij 90+3).
