Steve Coppell’s Kerala Blasters played against Mumbai City FC at their home stadium and were expected to give their fans a little to cheer about after having just one shot on target in three games.
Blasters were coming off a goalless draw against Delhi Dynamos while Mumbai City FC were held to a 1-1 draw against Atletico de Kolkata in their last game.
The game erupted from the word go, as both teams looked to be in an attacking mindset. Kerala took the lead through a Michael Chopra goal and looked the more threatening side throughout. Coppell’s men managed to hold on to that lead to finally claim their first win of ISL 2016. Alexander Guimaraes, meanwhile, would be hoping his side jumps back after this poor defeat.
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Take a look at the player ratings for the match:
Kerala
Sandip Nandy: 6.5/10
The former Indian goalkeeper proved that age, in this game, is just another number. With another superb outing, the 41-year old showed why he can keep Graham Stack out of the starting XI. Confident collections, good distribution and telepathic coordination with the defence earned the veteran another clean sheet. There was a mix up between him and his captain at one point, but thankfully no harm was done.
Sandesh Jhingan: 7/10
Jhingan played more actively than he did in the last three games. With the return of marquee player Aaron Hughes, Jhingan was back to his favorite right-back position and already had his best match in this ISL. The India international looked confident at the back and delivered a lot of inviting deliveries into the box. He got turned inside out once in the second half by Sony Norde, but his skipper Aaron Hughes was on the goal-line to bail him out.
Cedric Hengbart: 8/10
The French defender had another strong outing in the backline. The former NorthEast United FC defender formed a formidable pairing with Aaron Hughes and looked completely in control of the proceedings. He won a lot of aerial balls and was the cornerstone of another Kerala clean sheet.
Aaron Hughes: 8/10
The marquee player returned from International duty to give coach Steve Coppell a little more freedom with the defensive structure. A confident performance on his ISL debut shows why the Northern Ireland defender is so highly rated throughout England. He also made a brilliant clearance from a Sony Norde chance to keep Mumbai goalless.
Mehtab Hossain: 7/10
Solid defensively, Hossain had his most active game in ISL-3 as of yet. The East Bengal midfielder played a little higher up the pitch and had more intensity to his game tonight. Hossain created chances and tried to hit a few pile-drivers too.
Josu: 6.5/10
The Spanish winger looked equally calm, confident and imposing from the left back position. Playing at a makeshift position, the diminutive player showed a lot of his creative prowess, running down the flanks with consummate ease throughout the game. Josu contributed a lot in attack and played an aggressive game throughout.
Azrack Mahamat: 7/10
Mahamat was the main defensive midfielder for Steve Coppell’s side for this match. The Chad player showed his temperament well and broke a lot of opposition attacks. Kept Krisztian Vadocz silent for most of the game and intercepted a lot of key deliveries. Mahamat though fluffed a golden opportunity to get on the scoresheet after missing a brilliant chance created by Michael Chopra.
Mohammad Rafique: 6/10
The East Bengal midfielder had another good day in the office. Playing as a right-winger, the drifted into a central position more often than expected, giving Jhingan the much-needed space on the wings. Rafique provided a lot of good balls as his team went forward, but lacked the cutting edge at the end.
Michael Chopra: 8/10
The former Sunderland striker looked tired and slow in the beginning but grew well into the game. He provided support to Kervens Belfort and Mohammad Rafi well with some creative skills and well-knit passes. The former England youth international might have got a little lucky as the ball fell for him via a deflection in the box, but kept his calm and finished well. His attacking mentality paid off well for the Steve Coppell side.
Kervens Belfort: 7/10
The Haitian international started the game on the left wing but played in a more central position as the game progressed. Linking well with Chopra, Josu and Rafi, the striker created a lot of chances for the Men in Yellow. Steve Coppell would be cursing his luck, not starting the striker before this match. He was also responsible for playing the ball to Michael Chopra for Kerala’s goal.
Mohammad Rafi: 6/10
The former Atletico de Kolkata striker showed his quality as a striker in the box, yet again. Playing at the top of a three-man pivot, Rafi fed off from the supply well and should’ve scored on a few opportunities. With this performance, Rafi would be expected to do a lot of goal-scoring for the Sachin Tendulkar-owned side.
Substitutes:
Ishfaq Ahmed: 5/10
Much was expected from the former Mohun Bagan winger, but he did not see a lot of the ball to affect proceedings.
Antonio German: 5/10
The English striker was dropped to the bench and would be ruing his luck. After coming on, Belfort could’ve created two opportunities for the German, but the Haitian misplaced his passes even with a lot of space.
Duckens Nazon: NA
Mumbai City FC
Roberto Volpato: 6/10
The goalkeeper was kept busy but held his fort well. The captain of the Mumbai City FC showed his experience under the bar, keeping most of the re-invigorated Kerala attack outside the net. Volpato couldn’t do much about the goal as the ball fell to Chopra’s feet at the edge of the 6-yard box.
Aibor Khongjee: 7/10
The former Shillong Lajong right-back had a busy night. Up against Kervens Belfort and Josu, the lanky defender lost a few balls and made a few poor challenges, but was decent throughout. He didn’t contribute much in attack, though.
Lucian Goain: 6/10
One of the rare Romanian players to ever play in India, Lucian Goain had a match to remember, except for the goal. A confident game throughout, the powerful defender kept the attacks at bay and cleared his lines well. Despite making a couple of crunching challenges, he could not prevent Kerala from scoring.
Anwar Ali: 7/10
The former Indian International had an average game at the backline. Playing at the right side of the centre-back pairing, the Mumbai FC defender gave a lot of space to Belfort and Rafi and could’ve done much better in clearing his lines.
Facundo Cardozo: 6/10
The Argentine left-back had a tumultuous match at the back. Playing a safe game for most of the match, the full back didn’t wander ahead on a lot of occasions. He was lucky to receive only a yellow card for his lunging challenge on Mohammed Rafique.
Krisztian Vadocz: 5/10
The link between defence and attack had an off-game, and that showed on the field. The Hungarian international did not have a memorable shift as he couldn’t muster anything worth mentioning. Credit must be given to Mehtab and Mahamat for keeping the big midfielder quiet.
David Lalrinmuana: 6/10
The young midfielder did not have much of a role in the first half. Playing on the right side of a three-man midfield, the Mizoram-based player looked comfortable on the ball but didn’t link-up play well.
Sehnaj Singh: 6.5/10
The former Indian centre-half looked a little jaded. Sitting just in front of the defence, Sehnaj shielded his team’s backline well but contributed very less in attack. The player lost possession a few times but was compact defensively.
Leo Costa: 7/10
The Brazilian tried to create a lot of attacking opportunities but fell short on most occasions. Such was the agony of the Mumbai attacking set-up that star striker Defederico did not have a goal-scoring chance throughout the match! A little blame must be put on the big Brazilian, who would be cursing himself for poor link-up play.
Boithang Haokip: 6/10
The Shillong Lajong player had an enterprising first half but did not look to have much effect in the second half of the game. Having been replaced with an injury, the free-kick specialist looked to be a little devoid of support, playing as a lone striker. Needs more support from his teammates in the attacking third.
Matias Defederico: 7/10
The Argentine winger was probably the only live-wire in the Mumbai City FC attack. The player always tried to create something, whenever he had the ball. The scorer from the last match played most of the match centrally, giving Josu a lot of space on the left wing to move ahead. The striker would be looking for better link-up play in the attacking third.
Substitutes:
Jackichand Singh: 5/10
The Indian international didn’t do much to enhance his reputation to get to the starting XI. The former Pune City FC winger made a lot of runs but didn’t produce quality balls for his team’s strikers into the box. Singh did support Khongjee well in the defensive set-up, but much more was expected of the speedy winger.
Sena Ralte: 5/10
Coming on for Boithang Haokip, the diminutive wing-back played his role well and covered the left wing with confidence. Didn’t contribute much to the team’s attack, but presumably he was brought on for a defensive role only.
Sony Norde: 7/10
If any man from Mumbai City FC came close to scoring, it was this man. The Haitian International deserves a start in the next match. He created an open chance, only to be cleared off the goal-line by the genius Aaron Hughes. Norde would be calling on Alexander Guimaraes to name him in the starting XI soon.
