Halicharan Narzary's first-half strike was cancelled out by a brilliant long-range strike by Pranjal Bhumij as Kerala Blasters were held by Mumbai City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday.
David James named an unchanged lineup for the first home match of the season. They had beaten ATK 2-0 in the season opener in Kolkata. Youngster Sahal Abdul Samad partnered Nikola Krcmarevic in midfield. Matej Poplatnik and Slavisa Stojanovic continued to lead the line.
Jorge Costa made four changes to his side that lost 0-2 to Jamshedpur FC. Raynier Fernandes, Sehnaj Sing, Arnold Issoko and Shouvik Ghosh earned their first starts of the season.
The home team should have taken the lead as early as the third minute of the game. Young full-back Mohamad Rakip played a delightful cross-field through-ball for Halicharan Narzary to chase on the left flank. The winger found Seminlen Doungel in acres of space inside the box but a terrific reflex save by Amrinder Singh with his leg denied Blasters the lead.
The vociferous crowd cheered the team on as Kerala Blasters exerted dominance on the field. Poplatnik's upper-body strength allowed him to outmuscle Sehnaj Singh and split the Mumbai backline to find Stojanovic. The Serbian's first touch inside the box the box was too heavy, allowing Lucian Goian to slide in with a well-timed block.
The Mumbai City skipper then turned up at the other end of the box. Paulo Machado's free-kick was headed wide by the Romanian centre-back midway through the first half.
Blasters took the lead with a well-worked goal in the 24th minute. Nikola Krcmarevic shielded a throw-in from the right flank and produced a brilliant back-heel pass into the feet of Doungel inside the box.
The former NorthEast United striker raced to the byline before picking out an unmarked Narzary on the other side of the box. The 24-year-old took a touch on the ball before slotting it home.
The Yellow Army looked comfortable on the ball and were fluid in the attacking third of the field. The Islanders looked bereft of ideas at the other end, with Rafael Bastos struggling to get into the game.
Stojanovic was ready to float wide whenever required and Poplatnik dropped deep throughout the match to link midfield to attack. This allowed Doungel to occupy a more advanced role but he was wasteful.
Mumbai City's attempts to get back into the game appeared half-hearted and their unsynchronized midfield and attack looked clueless. Raynier dribbled forward through the centre and passed the ball to Arnold on the right channel. The Congo forward, in a desperate attempt to equalize, blasted the ball into the side-netting.
The introduction of CK Vineeth, Courage Pekuson and Keziron Kizito in the second-half helped the hosts to tighten their grip on the game. Pekuson found an unmarked Stojanovic in the centre of the box but the Serbian failed to get his shot away.
David James was left to rue his team's profligacy in the added time. Pranjal Bhumij picked up Sanju Pradhan's pass in the centre of midfield and unleashed a terrific strike that smashed the top right corner of the net.
Mumbai City, having been on the back-foot for most of the game, left the pitch delighted, with a crucial point added to their tally.
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