Kochi: Kerala Blasters were left to rue missed chances as Mumbai City FC held them to a 1-1 draw in an exciting Indian Super League (ISL) match here on Sunday.
Mark Sifneos ended Blasters' long wait for the opening goal of ISL Season 4 as the Dutch forward's strike handed them an early lead, but Balwant Singh's late strike dashed their hopes of a maiden win.
Blasters have three points from as many games and are in seventh place, while Mumbai, who have four from four matches, are in sixth spot.
Sifneos, who was handed a start by Blasters coach Rene Meulensteen in place of Iain Hume, latched on to a fine cross from Rino Anto and sidefooted it past Amrinder Singh in the Mumbai goal in the 14th minute as the crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium erupted in joy.
It was Blasters who did all the early running.
Midfielder Courage Pekuson shot wide from the edge of the box in the fourth minute.
CK Vineeth earned a corner-kick in the very next minute and some desperate defending saw Mumbai avert danger off the resultant flag-kick.
The sustained pressure bore fruit in the 14th as Sifneos, who had come on as a substitute in place of Hume in the first two games, broke the deadlock.
Brilliant save
The goal spurred Blasters on and Vineeth's powerful shot from a lovely ball by Jackichand Singh was brilliantly parried away by Amrinder in the 27th.
Soon, Pekuson failed to hit the target from the edge of the area.
Against the run of play, Spanish forward Rafa Jorda had a chance to restore parity for Mumbai in the 36th. But he headed straight at Blasters custodian Paul Rachubka, who made an easy save.
Blasters failed to double the lead in the 42nd as Jackichand blasted over with Amrinder at his mercy.
Rino, who picked up an injury in the final minutes of the opening half, was replaced by Pritam Kumar Singh at the start of the second period.
Pekuson again shot over from inside the rival box shortly on resumption of play.
It was Vineeth's tun to squander a golden chance in the 55th as he fired wide. Blasters had a lucky escape in the very next minute as Everton Santos' shot hit Rachubka's legs and ricocheted off the post.
However, Balwant's strike in the 77th meant honors were shared. The striker pounced on a cross from Santos and beat Rachubka hands down with a first-time shot. The goal stunned both the Blasters players and the partisan crowd.
Red card for Vineeth
Vineeth was red-carded after picking up his second booking in the 89th as Blasters' frustration grew.
Earlier, experienced defender Wes Brown, who was expected to make a comeback after regaining fitness, was left out by Meulensteen.
Blasters, who had played out goalless draws with ATK and JFC in their first two matches, next meet FC Goa in an away tie on December 9.