Kerala Blasters registered a well-deserved victory over Delhi Dynamos as they beat them 1-0 in the first leg of the second Indian Super League semi-final. Kervens Belfort scored the only goal of the match in the sixty-fourth minute.
Here’s how each player fared in the match.
Kerala Blasters
Sandip Nandy - 6/10
Had very little to do throughout the match but he won’t be complaining about that. His distributions were on point.
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Sandesh Jhingan – 6/10
The defender who’s much more adept as a centre back didn’t have the best of nights, playing as a right back. His passes were wayward initially but he settled into his own as the game progressed.
Cedric Hengbart – 8/10
The centre-back was in an adventurous mood and marauded forward right into Delhi’s penalty box on a couple of occasions. He made numerous timely interventions including a clearance off the line. Hengbart was the best player on the pitch.
Aaron Hughes - 7/10
He produced a solid and calm performance and kept things tight at the back. The defender was never troubled and let his teammates play with the freedom they desired.
Josu Currais – 3/10
Delhi targeted the left back consistently with looping aerial passes. He made some questionable tackles on Marcelinho and received a yellow card for one of them. Could have easily received a second for his cynical challenge on the Brazilian inside the box. Coppell replaced him after just 30 minutes.
Azrack Mahamat – 7/10
The defensive midfielder put in an energetic performance and bossed the midfield. He stifled Delhi’s creative men, positioning himself in proper positions.
Mehtab Hossain – 6/10
He had an eventful start to the game, was a bit careless with his tackles and received a yellow card very early in the match. Mehtab chased Malouda like a shadow all through the match and did well to keep the Frenchman at bay.
Mohammed Rafi – 4/10
The striker was completely absent on the night. Luckily for him, his fellow forwards were in their zone.
Duckens Nazon – 7/10
His header in the dying minutes of the first half went inches wide of the right post. Made an amazing run down the right flank and let loose from an acute angle but was denied by the keeper. Nazon kept the Delhi defence on their toes all night long.
CK Vineeth - 6/10
Kerala’s go to man missed a glorious opportunity to give his side the lead, inside the first two minutes. Wasn’t too active for the rest of the match but he kept drawing defenders towards him.
Kervens Belfort 8/10
The Frenchman placed the ball in the back of the net but was wrongly adjudged for handling the ball. He deservedly scored a wonderful solo goal, running a good 30 yards along the left wing, zipping past a couple of defenders, before placing the ball past the keeper.
Substitutes
Boris Kadio - 7/10
Came on for Josu in the first half and did extremely well to keep Marcelinho quiet. He put his torso to good use and kept it tight.
Antonio German - 6/10
Replaced goal scorer, Belford for the final fifteen minutes of the match. He immediately ran at Delhi’s defenders and played a clever through ball.
Michael Chopra – 5/10
Replaced the tired Nazon for the final few minutes of the match. Chopra was active for the little time he spent on the pitch.
Delhi Dynamos
Antonio Doblas – 6/10
He couldn’t have done much about the goal as the ball deflected off his defender. Apart from that, he didn’t do much wrong on the night.
Chinglensana Singh – 6/10
The right back mirrored his partner, Souvik on the pitch. On numerous occasions, he played as the third centre back for Delhi and did his job well. He always presented himself as an option when his team-mates were in tight situations.
Ruben Rocha - 5/10
Executed a well-timed tackle on Vineeth just outside the box. If he hadn’t got that right, the striker was clear on goal. But he was completely outclassed by Belfort in the build up to the goal. The centre back was rooted to his spot and should have done better.
Anas Edathodika- 6/10
On a night when his side were up against an unpredictable attack, he held his own. Anas was aggressive at the back and adopted a no nonsense approach, clearing every dangerous ball without thinking twice.
Souvik Chakraborty – 7/10
The left back kept it simple and wasn’t too eager to get forward. But he was solid at the back and ensured Kerala didn’t break successfully on the counter. The Indian made some crucial interceptions on the night.
Marcos Tebar 4/10
The Spaniard couldn’t keep up with Kerala’s counter attacks. On more than one occasion, he was caught out of position and left his defenders isolated.
Milan Singh 4/10
Milan had a night to forget as he couldn’t combine with Malouda and co. up front. He failed to make himself available when his teammates needed him.
Marcelinho - 5/10
The league’s top scorer gave Kerala’s defence a torrid time with his trickery and off the ball movements. He danced past the opposition with ease on more than one occasion. But his impact faded in the second half.
Florent Malouda – 6/10
His battle with Mehtab was extremely intriguing to watch. The experienced campaigner led from the front and tracked back when it mattered most. He sat deep and orchestrated his team’s attack from the centre circle.
Kean Lewis – 5/10
The winger couldn’t really influence the game like he usually does. Kerala double teamed him whenever he was presented with space.
Richard Gadze – 4/10
The Ghanaian didn’t see much of the ball throughout the match and was an isolated figure in the opposition half. He endured a frustrating night.
Substitute
Malsawmzuala – 3/10
Came on for Milan Singh with twenty minutes remaining but couldn’t really make an impact. His looping volley failed to test the keeper.
Emerson Gomes de Moura – 3/10
Replaced Tebar and added numbers in attack for Delhi but he had a quiet mini appearance.
