Kerala Blasters qualified for the semifinal of the ISL after a tense 1-0 win over NorthEast United in front of a packed house in Kochi. CK Vineeth got the all-important goal after NorthEast had threatened to take the lead on multiple occasions. Aaron Hughes and Cedric Hengbart held firm after Vineeth’s goal to keep Kerala’s hopes of a home final alive.
Kerala Blasters
Graham Stack – 7/10
Stack made a couple of big saves, one from Alfaro and one from Seityasen. When crosses came into the box, he commanded his area perfectly as he came out to catch with conviction.
Rino Anto – 4/10
An off-day for Rino. Steve Coppell would have missed the services of Josu. After starting at left-back, he was moved to right-back as he was being tormented by Seityasen. He was taken off in the 60th minute.
Aaron Hughes – 6/10
Hughes looked shaky in the first half. The fluidity between Alfaro, Yusa and Seityasen gave a few problems to the Northern Irishman. But in the second half, he was in command of the situation as he lived up to his billing as captain.
Cedric Hengbart – 7/10
Hengbart used all his experience to contain the threat that NorthEast posed. Even in the first half when Hughes struggled to find his bearings, he stood tall and covered well for his partner.
Sandesh Jhingan – 6/10
Jhingan was solid all game. Even after he was moved to an unnatural position in the swap with Rino, he was perfectly solid. This performance was a testament to his reliability and his ability.
Mahamat Azrack – 7/10
The commentators barely mentioned Azrack’s name during the coverage. And that is exactly what defines a good defensive midfield performance. He went under the radar but Kerala won’t care as he did his job on a famous night for the club.
Ishfaq Ahmed – 6/10
Ishfaq was let down by his quality on the ball. Playing alongside Azrack, the other midfielder had to be the one spreading play and taking the creative burden. But Ishfaq failed at doing that.
Duckens Nazon – 7/10
Nazon had the first chance of the game. He swept past Nirmal Chhetri and Mailson Alves and tried to curl it past Rehenesh, but the NorthEast ‘keeper was up to the task. Apart from that, he was the most creative player Kerala had. He was replaced by German in the 73rd minute.
Kervens Belfort – 6/10
Belfort tried hard, but that was it. There was very little apart from his sheer graft.
Mohammad Rafi – 6/10
Like Belfort, Rafi gets his rating for his sheer willingness to work his socks off. The local boy is loved by the Kerala faithful and he will look forward to a semifinal first leg at home against Delhi Dynamos.
CK Vineeth – 8/10
Before kick-off, Vineeth said that nothing less than three points would do for Kerala. And he went on the pitch to ensure that Kerala got the three points. After joining the team late, he has been the key in their surge to the semifinal.
Substitutes
Pratik Chowdhary – 6/10
Pratik replaced Rino and did much much better than the Bengaluru FC man.
Antonio German – 7/10
German came on and did exactly what he was brought on to do. He stretched NorthEast with his pace. He put the ball in the net once, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Reagan. He also stung Rehenesh’s palms with a stunning strike.
Didier Kadio – 5/10
He came on in the 88th minute to help Kerala see off the lead. Kerala saw off the lead. So, job done for Kadio.
NorthEast United
TP Rehenesh – 6/10
He made three fabulous save, one from Vineeth, one from German and the best of the lot from Rafi’s point-blank header. But he was at fault for the Kerala goal. Vineeth’s shot lacked any serious power and the ‘keeper should have got across to keep the ball out.
Nirmal Chhetri – 4/10
Chhetri had an awful game. He focused on cutting out supply to Vineeth and got close to him. But Nazon and Belfort also drifted towards that side. He made some terrible challenges till he was replaced by Regan Singh early in the second half.
Mailson Alves – 6/10
Mailson largely kept out Belfort and Rafi and was strong in the air. But for the goal, he could have possibly gotten closer to Vineeth.
Didier Zokora – 6/10
Zokora tried to rally his troops and played the ball out from the back with reasonable ease. Defensively too, he was pretty comfortable.
Robin Gurung – 5/10
Rafi’s aerial prowess troubled Gurung all game. The NorthEast man was enthusiastic and sometimes, that got the better of him, as he made some silly fouls.
Rowlin Borges – 6/10
Borges had a stormer of a first half. He kept the ball moving and more importantly, cut out everything that Kerala built in terms of their attacks. But he faded away as the game progressed, much like the entire NorthEast side.
Wellington Priori – 5/10
He was a late starter, after Nico Velez injured himself in the warm-up. His performance meant NorthEast really felt the absence of the Argentine as he never really got to terms with the Kerala defense.
Romaric – 6/10
Romaric used his power reasonably well. But when it came to the final third, there was a serious lack of quality. He got into some good shooting positions, but did not get his shooting boots on.
Katsumi Yusa – 5/10
Yusa was moved out wide after Velez pulled out. But he never got into the game.
Seityasen Singh – 7/10
Seitya was NorthEast’s best player of the day. He tormented Rino with his pace and trickery. If not for Stack, he would have got himself and NorthEast a precious goal.
Emiliano Alfaro – 6/10
He blew hot and cold all game. He had NorthEast’s best chance of the game – which was saved by Stack after it deflected off Hengbart. He was very close to losing his discipline as he pulled down Sandesh Jhingan’s shorts in a moment of madness.
Substitutes
Reagan Singh – 4/10
He came on early in the second half to replace Nirmal, but he fared no better.
Robert Cullen – 5/10
Robert tried hard and took one shot of note. But that shot was high, wide and wild.
Holicharan Narzary – 4/10
He was absolutely anonymous after coming on in the 70th minute. Disappointing performance from the winger on such a big day for his club.
