Bengaluru makes it six wins in a row

BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC extended its winning streak to six matches in the Indian Super League (ISL) after a 1-0 victory over southern rival Kerala Blasters FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday.

Roy Krishna netted his fifth goal of the ISL season as Bengaluru (28 points from 18 matches) jumped from seventh to fifth on the table and is a point clear of fellow play-off aspirants FC Goa and Odisha FC. Kerala remains third with 31 points off 18 games.

Opportunities came at both ends in the initial stages of the first half. Dimitrios Diamantakos failed to hit the target from a promising Sahal Abdul Samad cross at one end, while Sandesh Jhingan rattled the crossbar from a Javi Hernandez free-kick at the other.

Blasters kept more of the ball, but the ‘Blues’ fired more shots at goal and eventually drew first blood just after the half-hour mark. Hernandez was the provider as he slid a clever ball through to Krishna down the right flank. Under pressure from Ruivah Hormipam, the Fijian outmuscled the defender and made his way into the box before slotting the ball past Prabhsukhan Gill at the near post from a tight angle.

Five minutes from the break, Hernandez had an opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet when he dodged the offside trap and brought a long ball down deftly in front of goal. However, Gill pounced on the ball before the Spaniard could adjust his footing and get a shot away.

Kerala started the second half on the front foot. Adrian Luna’s cross from the right flank was just behind Diamantakos and was cleared to safety. Around the hour-mark, Bengaluru applied pressure on the Blasters defence. Naorem Roshan Singh cut in from the left flank and tried to catch Gill on the wrong foot with a shot at the near post. However, the shot-stopper was quick to palm it out for a corner.

RESULT: Bengaluru FC 1 (R Krishna 32) bt Kerala Blasters FC 0