Vineeth seals thriller for Blasters

Kerala Blasters pipped FC Pune City 2-1 in an entertaining Indian Super League encounter here at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Friday.

Jackichand Singh's strike gave Kerala the lead before Emiliano Alfaro equalised from the spot. It was, however, CK Vineeth, who had the final laugh as he bagged a last-gasp winner for the visitors deep into injury time.

Both teams started with some free-flowing football, taking turns to charge into the opposition half. The Stallions had a big let off in the fifth minute. Custodian Vishal Kaith failed to clear a simple back pass and the ball came straight to Iain Hume. The Canadian tried to tee up Vineeth but overcooked his pass as the Pune fans heaved a huge sigh of relief.

It was the visitors who had the match's first shot on target when a couple of minutes later, Diego Carlos cut in from the left flank and took a shot at the near post. However, keeper Subhasish Roy was alert and made a fine save. On the half-hour mark, Jackichand floated in a delightful ball from the right flank, and while the goal was at Hume's mercy, the ball was just a bit high for him to connect well.

Four minutes before the break, the hosts had a great opportunity when Rafael Lopez's long ball put Alfaro through on goal, but the Uruguayan surprisingly blasted his shot wide off target from a slight angle.

Nine minutes following the restart, the home team came agonizingly close to scoring. Marcelinho received the ball outside the box and took a few touches before letting fly. The ball unfortunately though, ricocheted off the bar after beating the keeper. Instead, a couple of minutes before the hour mark, Kerala took the lead. Jackichand received the ball in midfield, took a few strides and put his laces through his shot which sailed past a hapless Kaith and into the net.