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The Kerala Blasters registered only their second win of the ISL 2017/18 campaign with a convincing 3-1 win over the struggling Delhi Dynamos at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. The visitors took an early lead through Iain Hume in the 12th minute and continued to be in the driving seat until Pritam Kotal put Delhi back on level terms just before the half-time break.
The men in yellow pushed on from there in the second half and cruised to victory on the back of two more goals from Hume, his first hat-trick for the Blasters, to leave Delhi clutching their straws at the end of the tie.
The result means that Kerala have now climbed up to 6th position in the table and are just three points away from the final qualification spot for the knockout stages, while Delhi are disappointingly rock-bottom with just four points. Without further delay, let's have a closer look at how the players from both sides fared during the game:
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Delhi Dynamos
Xabier Iruetaguena - 5/10
The Delhi shot-stopper could only last till the dying minutes of the first half as he got injured and was replaced by Arnab Das Sharma. He let in one goal during the period he was on the pitch, but there was little for him to do to avoid the goal.
Pritam Kotal - 7/10
Kotal put in a convincing shift at the right-back position for the hosts and pulled things level for Delhi with an equaliser right at the end of the first half. The skipper also got forward on numerous occasions to push the opposition.
Rowilson Rodrigues - 5/10
The defender was mostly busy playing catch up with the likes of Pekuson and Hume. Rodrigues was caught out of position on a few instances as well.
Gabriel Cichero - 6/10
Cichero wasn't too bad on the night and was fairly composed on the ball in comparision to his teammates. However, he could not prevent Kerala from taking control of the game in the second half.
Jeroen Lumu - 6/10
The full-back darted forward and was always looking to try and make things happen for the hosts but he failed to create goal-scoring opportunities. Lumu did well defensively and managed to keep Rino Anto on his toes.
Edu Moya - 6/10
Moya looked confident on the ball and was quick to turn defence into attack for Delhi. The midfielder covered a lot of ground but failed to provide the telling pass in the attacking third.
Paulinho Dias - 6/10
Dias did well to close down his opponents on countless occasions and tried his best to negate the threat offered by the likes of Keziron and Hume. However, the midfielder faded off as the game progressed and Kerala took control.
Lallianzuala Chhangte - 6/10
The tyoungster showed a lot of promise while darting forward with the ball and caused a few problems to the Kerala full-backs. Chhangte could not create opportunities in the final third and was replaced after Kerala scored their second goal in the 78th minute.
Romeo Fernandes - 6/10
The winger played a crucial part in the build-up to Delhi's equaliser and showed sparks of brilliance on numerous occasions. However, he failed to make any significant impact apart from that and was taken off just after the hour mark.
Nandhakumar Sekar - 7/10
Nandhakumar was a driving force in the midfield for Delhi and offered direct threat to the Kerala defence whenever he had the ball at his feet. The athletic midfielder made a few daring runs deep inside Kerala's half but failed to deliver the final product.
David Ngaihte - 6/10
The striker might have been let down by his decision making on a few instances but his link-up play was decent and he tried to bring his teammates into the game. Ngaihte could not offer any physical challenge to the sturdy Kerala defenders.
Substitutes
Arnab Das - 4/10
Delhi's second-choice keeper did not enjoy his involvement in the second half of the proceedings and looked nervy on a few instances. Iain Hume grabbed a hattrick towards the end of the game to add to his miseries.
Guyon Fernandez - 5/10
Guyon Fernandez was introduced in the 65th minute in place of Romeo Fernandes but he failed to leave a mark on the game.
Seityasen Singh - N/A
Came on in the 79th minute for Lallianzula Chhangte and was provided with too little time to make an impact.
Kerala Blasters
Subhasish Roy - 6/10
The Kerala goal-keeper looked commanding on most occasions and hardly faced any challenging attempts from Delhi on the night.
Rino Anto - 6/10
Rino was made to work hard defensively by the Delhi attackers in the first half and he did not disappoint . The right-back would have enjoyed some involvement while going forward but he rarely had opportunities for the same.
Sandesh Jhingan - 7/10
The Kerala Blasters skipper put in a top notch performance yet again and was very influential at the back. Jhingan made a few vital interceptions and was not shy of putting his body on the line.
Wes Brown - 7/10
Brown was a commanding presence at the heart of the defence for the visitors and showed no signs of switching off. The defender's awareness and positioning was almost flawless and he did well to play the ball out from the back.
Lalruatthara - 7/10
The young full-back continued to bomb forward at every opportunity and caused a few problems for the hosts inside their own half. Lalruatthara was tidy at the back and stood up to his opponents at will.
Siam Hanghal - 6/10
Hanghal did not have the most extraordinary game but he managed to perform his duties as per requisition. The midfielder looked comfortable on the ball and provided some much needed legs in midfield for the visitors.
Dimitar Berbatov - 4/10
The Bulgarian was deployed in a deeper midfield role in a bid to stabilize things in the middle of the park for the visitors. However, Berbatov enjoyed just 40 minutes of action and was taken off due to an injury.
Jackichand Singh - 6/10
The winger was left out on his own for the majority of the first half because the visitors hardly made any efforts down the right flank. Kerala were focused on trying to break in through the left and as a result Jackichand was forced to just try and keep Lumu occupied on the other flank.
Keziron Kizito - 7/10
Kizito has been a revelation in midfield ever since joining the club a few weeks ago and was his usual self of keeping the ball and looking up to try and release his teammates into space. The midfielder adds a lot of stability to Kerala's midfield and will be a key player for them in the coming games.
Courage Pekuson - 7/10
The Ghanaian was determined to make things happen with the ball in his feet and made a few driving runs including the one that ended up in the back of the net courtesy Hume, which was also Blasters' opening goal.
Iain Hume - 10/10
Hume was in scintillating form for the Blasters and he repaid the faith shown in him by the fans by scoring a crucial hattrick for the visitors. A completely convincing performance from the Canadian was a result of his tireless spirit.
Substitutes
Mark Sifneos - 6/10
The Dutchman did well after replacing the injured Berbatov in the first half and got himself into a few good positions inside the opponent's half. Sifneos did a lot of running and freed up a lot of space for his teammates.
Milan Singh - N/A
Came on in the 88th minute in place of Iain Hume.
Loken Meitei - N/A
Came on in the 90th minute in place of Jackichand Singh.
