Football is a game of two halves. Underdog Kerala Blasters put on an inspired show and surprised many by taking a 2-0 lead in the first session, before Bengaluru FC (BFC) rose from the dead and salvaged a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Table-topper BFC started as clear favourite, but it was the visitor who came out all guns blazing. After a period of sustained aggression, a cross from Mohamad Rakip put BFC’s Kean Lewis in a tight spot inside his box. Lewis fluffed a wild clearance attempt, and the ball crashed into his outstretched hand.
The resulting penalty was converted by Slavisa Stojanovic. In the 40th minute, BFC was stunned by a terrific right-footed strike from Ghanian Courage Pekuson, which nestled into the top corner of the goal. Matej Poplatnik could have sealed the fate of the encounter at the stroke of half-time, but his close-range effort was deflected expertly by BFC custodian, Gurpreet Singh.
Confidence on rise
The horror first-half show jolted BFC out of a deep slumber. The home team finally ran into some attacking rhythm, and managed to wrest back possession. Chances were created almost immediately, with Xisco Hernandez and captain Sunil Chhetri in the thick of things. Slowly but surely, BFC’s confidence was on the rise.
The breakthrough came when Chhetri’s assist found Udanta Singh. Udanta contorted his body to generate power on his header from an awkward angle, and defeated goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh all ends up.
Five minutes before the final whistle, the roles changed, as this time, it was the skipper who scored off a pass from Udanta.
The encounter did see some rough tackles and physical play, which led to a few scuffles on the pitch. The referee, Tejas Nagvenkar, was keen to keep play going, which only encouraged the players to test the limits of his lenience.
The result: Bengaluru FC 2 (Udanta Singh 69, Sunil Chhetri 85) bt Kerala Blasters 2 (Slavisa Stojanovic 16, Courage Pekuson 40).