Bengaluru FC left it late to secure a 2 – 0 win over Kerala Blasters FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. Miku and Udanta Singh grabbed a stoppage-time goal each to help the hosts become the only team to secure 40 points in a single season in the league’s history.

The Blues started by taking the attack to the visitors and the eleventh minute saw their skipper Sunil Chhetri have a crack at goal from outside the box. But the ball swerved away agonizingly at the last moment to miss the target by inches.

Kerala then had a great chance a couple of minutes later. Jackichand Singh sped along the right flank before cutting back, but CK Vineeth failed to connect with the ball with the entire goal at his mercy. The 22nd minute saw Nishu Kumar latch onto a loose ball and have a go from a tight angle inside the box, but he only managed to blast it off target.

The opening period saw no further chances as the teams went into the break locked at 0 – 0.

Two minutes after the hour mark, Toni Dovale cut in from the left and played Chhetri through on goal, but the latter’s first-time shot with his left foot was wide of the target. Then, with a quarter of an hour to go, Dovale put in an inch-perfect ball into the box, which substitute Udanta attacked. However, the 21-year-old’s free header went inches wide of the mark.

With two minutes remaining on the clock, Bengaluru should have scored. Miku was put through on goal and the Venezuelan decided to go for glory from a tight angle instead of passing it to Alwyn George at the centre. Consequently, his shot missed the target.

However, he scored with an almost carbon-copy of an effort two minutes into injury time. Daniel Segovia laid the ball off for Miku and from a similar angle as his previous chance, he fired and found the back of the net. In the very next minute, Bengaluru put the game beyond Kerala’s reach. Udanta cut in from the right and drilled a low shot that beat Kerala custodian Paul Rachubka at the near post.

That was enough to seal all three points for the Blues, as Kerala failed to end their season on a victorious note.

MATCH AWARDS

Club Award: Bengaluru FC

Swift Limitless Player: Dimas Delgado

DHL Winning Pass of the Match: Daniel Segovia

Amul Fittest Player: Sunil Chhetri

Emerging Player: Nishu Kumar

Hero of the Match: Miku

Watch the match highlights here: