ISL 2017/18: Match 67: ATK vs Kerala Blasters FC, Player Ratings

Match 67 of the Hero ISL saw last year's finalists clash as ATK hosted Kerala Blasters FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata, India.

The two teams haven't been in best of their form this season and are lying in the bottom of the Hero ISL standings. ATK is currently placed on the eight spot with 12 points from their thirteen matches this season. Kerala Blasters have done a little better with 20 points from their fourteen matches and still have an outside chance of making the playoffs.

Defending champions ATK and Kerala Blasters played out a 2-2 draw with goals for the sides in both the halves as Kerala Blasters' quest for playoffs got tougher. ATK's Ashley Westwood got his first point in the league. The match saw four players - Gudjon Baldvinsson, Ryan Taylor, Dimitar Berbatov and Tom Thorpe score their first goals in the Indian Super League.

ATK

Soram Poirei (5/10) - The young keeper came into the lineup replacing Debjit Majumder after a couple of poor outings. He was beaten twice by Kerala attackers which included a deflected goal in the first half.

Ashutosh Mehta (5/10) - The former Mumbai City FC man played in the right-back position and was a constant option on the right flank for the home side.

Jordi Montel (4.5/10) - The Spaniard was again caught on the unfortunate side when Baldvinsson's header deflected off him to give Kerala the lead in the match. He was substituted off at the start of the second half by ATK manager Ashley Westwood.

Tom Thorpe (7/10) - The former Manchester United academy graduate came back from his injury layoff and was a strong presence in the ATK defense. He made a lot of blocks from the efforts taken by the Kerala attackers, marking a good defensive performance on his return. He got his first goal of the season when he headed past Roy to level things at 2-2 for the defending champions.

Keegan Perreira (6/10) - The left-back was active up and down the wings as he attacked with good runs and fell back to defend against Jackichand Singh. He did well as he somewhat restricted Jackichand's movement on the flank with his marking.

Ryan Taylor (7/10) - The midfielder was very dangerous with his freekicks and corners into the box for the attackers. He got his first goal of the ISL with a long-range shot that deflected past the Kerala keeper to level it up in the first half.

Conor Thomas (6/10) - The Englishman moved ahead in the midfield after some games in the central defense in the absence of Tom Thorpe. He did well in attack as he kept finding the runs made by Paterson ahead of him and was a threat in setpiece situations.

Darren Caldeira (5.5/10) - The Mumbai-born man played in a sweeper role as he moved around the midfield. He won a lot of tackles with his strong physical presence and even made some moves into the Kerala box.

Bipin Singh (5.5/10) - The winger played on the right flank and kept the Kerala defenders occupied with his runs and crosses into the box.

Jayesh Rane (5.5/10) - The former Chennaiyin man played the partner in attack for Paterson as he made good runs and did well on the left flank for the home side. He was marked by Wes Brown for the entirety of the match and gave a tough fight to the veteran defender.

Martin Paterson (6.5/10) - The Irishman was heavily involved in the ATK attacks as he made great runs to get on the end of a lot of balls inside the box. He took a couple of shots on the Kerala goal from in and out of the box.

Substitutes:

Rupert Nongrum (4/10) - The youngster came on at the start of the second half replacing Jordi Montel. Surprisingly, he was subbed off within twenty minutes of coming on when Shankar Sampingraj replaced him.

Shankar Sampingraj (4/10) - The defensive midfielder came on after the hour mark to replace Rupert Nongrum for the home side.

Kerala Blasters FC

Baldvinsson opened the account for Kerala Blasters

Subhashish Roy (5/10) - The Kerala keeper had a busy night between the sticks as ATK pressed continuously with efforts galore. He was beaten twice with goals in both the halves of the match.

Lalruatthara (5/10) - The young defender was a strong presence in the three-man Kerala defense as he went into the tackles with force and was booked for the fourth time thus triggering a suspension for the next match. He was up against the feisty Paterson and they were involved in a great tussle throughout the ninety minutes.

Nemanja Lakic-Pesic (5.5/10) - The Serbian came in for Sandesh Jhingan in the defense, who was serving his suspension after four yellow cards. He did well against Paterson in defense using his height well and even got an assist for the Berbatov goal.

Wes Brown (5.5/10) - The former West Bromwich Albion man was up against Jayesh Rane in the box and did well to keep his runs in check. He was the captain of the Kerala Blasters today and did well to organize his troops from the back.

Prasanth K (6/10) - The youngster played on the left flank and was great his runs and crosses into the box. He put in the cross that was scored by Baldvinsson for the first goal by Kerala.

Milan Singh (5.5/10) - The midfielder played in the pivot role between the midfield and defense. He moved around a lot and started the plays from the back playing the first line of defense for the away side.

Jackichand Singh (5.5/10) - The left winger was active on the flank and put in good crosses into the box. His pace was a great asset for the away side on the flank and he combined well with fellow midfielders in the attack.

Courage Pekuson (7.5/10) - The Ghanian midfielder was a livewire in the attack for Kerala Blasters as he was almost involved in all the attacks. He had a lot of shots on the goal but most of them were blocked by the ATK defenders.

Gudjon Baldvinsson (7/10) - The Iceland striker opened his account in the ISL when he headed in a cross by youngster Prasanth K from the left wing. He was the target man for Kerala in the box and had a lot of efforts on the ATK goal.

Dimitar Berbatov (7/10) - The marquee signing for the Blasters played in the central midfield and was the culprit for the ATK goal when Taylor robbed him in the midfield. He then atoned for his mistake in the second half when he scored the second goal for Kerala and his first in the Indian Super League with a great strike from outside the box.

CK Vineeth (6/10) - The top Indian goal scorer in the ISL was the engine in the Kerala attack with his movement in attack. He played around the box on all sides and had a couple of efforts on the ATK goal.

Substitutes:

Sahal Samad (4/10) - The youngster came on to replace goalscorer Berbatov for the final ten minutes as James introduced fresh legs in hopes of getting the winning goal.