Edgar Mendez came off the bench and scored a brace as Bengaluru FC extended their unbeaten run in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) after defeating Kerala Blasters 3-1 on Friday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. (Highlights | More Football News )
Before Mendez's brace, Jesus Jimenez had cancelled out Jorge Pereyra Díaz's early goal to level the scores just ahead of the break.
Kerala Blasters were the more dominating of the two sides and they trumped the visitors on every metric except on the metric that mattered: goals. Blasters' possession was 56% against Bengaluru's 44%. The hosts took 12 shots in the game, the double of Bengaluru's six. In terms of shots on target, Blasters were ahead as well. The hosts shot six times on target but got just one goal while the Blues were on-target just thrice in the game but got goals on each one of them.
Jorge Pereyra Díaz scored the opening goal of the match and his first of the season in just the eighth minute thanks to Pritam Kotal's mistake right outside the box. After Kotal passed the ball to Diaz, the Argentine ran into the box and just lobbed the ball over the head of a sprinting Som Kumar, the Kerala Blasters goalkeeper.
Jesus Jimenez then scored from the spot to level scores just seconds before the half-time whistle was blown. The goal became the first conceded by Bengaluru FC in this ISL season. However, score sheet Singh Sandhu ensured that he will not let anyone get past him in open play and made some spectacular saves throughout the match.
Edgar Mendez entered the match just after the one-hour mark and registered himself on the scoresheet around 10 minutes later. Som Kumar's poor collection in the box off a free kick fell right at Mendez's foot and the Spaniard made no mistake, netting the second goal for Bengaluru FC.
The last 15 minutes saw the Blasters going all out to find the equaliser but some solid defence from the Blues kept the hosts at bay. After a barrage of attacks on Sandhu's goal a fast break situation helped Mendez net his second after he beat Som Kumar in a one-on-one situation just seconds before the final whistle.
With the win, Bengaluru FC have extended their lead at top to four points now with the second-placed Jamshedpur FC playing tomorrow. The Blues now have five wins and a draw so far in the tournament. Kerala Blasters now have two losses with two wins and a couple of draws as well. They remain at the sixth spot with eight points.
