ISL 2016: Kerala Blasters 1-0 North East United - 5 Talking Points

#2 Hengbart and the back four looked solid yet again

Kerala were hard to break down throughout the game (Image courtesy of ISL)

Cedric Hengbart was yet again pivotal at the heart of the Kerala defence alongside captain and marquee signing Aaron Hughes. The Kerala defenders were happy to sit back and let NorthEast come at them and were also successful in preventing them from scoring. The back four worked together effectively under the guidance of Hengbart and Hughes, showed no signs of switching off throughout the 90 minutes.

Pratik Chowdhury who came on just after the hour mark for Rino Anto had a slightly disappointing night. However he, also looked confident on and off the ball. Kerala were missing a vital player in the form of Josu due to an injury but his comeback to the line-up will only add to their strengths at the back.