(Football news) A brilliant goal by Bengaluru FC’s Naorem Roshan Singh ended Kerala FC’s 10 game unbeaten run in the Indian Super League as the West Block Blues entered the top four for the first time this season after a 1-0 victory at the Tilak Maidan on Sunday. After a goalless first half, Roshan broke the deadlock in the 56th minute from a freekick as the Blues moved to fourth place with 20 points from 14 games while Kerala FC remained in third place with 20 points from 12 matches despite losing their first match of the season.
It was evident that the Manjappada looked rusty, having not played a competitive fixture in two weeks and Bengaluru FC looked more likely to score the opening goal. Danish Farooq and Prince Ibara came close to breaking the deadlock but could not hit the target while a botched clearance by Jorge Diaz hit Sunil Chhetri and almost went in goal but Nishu Kumar cleared the ball off the line. A cagey first half came to an end with both the teams cancelling each other out but Bengaluru FC had the better half overall.
The goal came from a moment of individual brilliance in the 56th minute as Roshan curled a fantastic freekick from just outside the box with a left footed shot which went past a diving Prabhsukhan Gill and into the back of the net. With the West Block Blues a goal up, Kerala Blasters showed more urgency to pull a goal back but lacked the cutting edge in the final third to get a breakthrough as a volley by Harmanjot Khabra went straight to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Bengaluru FC could have doubled their advantage but substitute Cleiton Silva’s effort went for a corner after being deflected by Gill. Bruno Silva also had a great opportunity to score his side’s second goal after being set up by Udanta but failed to hit the target. Kerala Blasters will next face NorthEast United on Friday, 4th February at the Tilak Maidan while Bengaluru FC will take on Jamshedpur on Saturday, 5th February at the GMC Athletic Stadium.
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