WHAT A GAME! The match between Kerala Blasters and FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi will be one to remember as the visitors were reduced to nine men during the course of the second half and the referee had to leave the pitch under the protection of security personnel as the FC Goa staff weren’t too happy about being disadvantaged the way they were.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electrifying as usual but the determination of the players from both sides to walk away with all three points made it even more tense. Goa had the lead in the first half but thanks to a handball from Goa’s Gregory, they were level with Kerala as Belfort scored from the spot. It was the returning hero CK Vineeth who won the match for his team as he scored in the 9th minute of injury time after coming on from the bench.
In a match that had its fair share of intensity and ugliness, here’s how each of the players fared:
FC Kerala Blasters
Graham Stack – 4.5/10
Stack’s worst moment of the game came when he failed to stop Luiz’s shot and allowed the ball to trickle in between his legs. After conceding that goal, he wasn’t really called into action for the rest of the game.
Pratik Chaudhari – 6/10
Pratik had a jittery start to the game but settled in gradually. He saw a lot of the ball and tried to initiate attacks for his team along the wings. He made an especially good clearance as he headed away a good cross from Robin Singh.
Cedric Hengbart – 7/10
The captain of the Kerala Blasters had a good game as he committed few mistakes tonight. Hengbart did really well to keep Goa’s striker Robin Singh in check as the Indian international was hardly seen around the opposition’s box.
Sandesh Jhingan – 8/10
Jhingan was one of the home side’s best performers. He was practically everywhere making important clearances and blocks. He even made a great run forward in the second half only to see his work laid to waste by Michael Chopra. He was also lucky to escape a booking for catching Goa’s Rafael around the neck in the first half.
Josu Currias – 7/10
Josu was heavily involved in the game and took all of Kerala’s set pieces. While most of them were pretty inaccurate in the first half, his deliveries improved as the night progressed and he even managed to aim one on target albeit into the arms of Kattamani. He was also responsible for some crucial interceptions.
Mehtab Hossain – 9/10
It wasn't until injury time at the end of the second half that Mehtab delivered a loose ball. All his deliveries were on point and he was by far the most important cog in the Kerala Blasters wheel. It was unfortunate neither of his teammates made more of his inch-perfect passing. He was eventually booked for a tussle with Richarlyson.
Azrack Mahamat – 5/10
There were a few good movements from the midfielder especially one to Belfort which he failed to direct accurately but Arack was taken off at halftime as he did not have enough impact on the game.
Michael Chopra – 6/10
Michael Chopra had a decent first half where he played a couple of good passes and teamed up with Belfort and Rafique to create chances but seemed to tire as the game wore on. He eventually went off after he incurred a slight injury in the second half.
Mohammed Rafique – 7/10
Rafique started well and began inviting fouls in strategic areas. In spite of delivering good balls from the right, his teammates could not convert. He did get a handful of chances to score himself but couldn’t hit his mark.
Kervens Belfort – 7.5/10
Belfort saw a lot of the ball and came close to scoring on many occasions but succeeded only when he stepped up to take a penalty for his team. He sent Kattamani the wrong way and scored with an artful strike of the ball.
Mohammed Rafi – 6.5/10
Rafi was the final man of the Blasters’ attack who couldn’t help but miss chance after chance. All his efforts were just short of the target.
Substitutes
Didier Kadio – 6.5/10
Kadio came on to replace Azrack in the second half and was immediately involved in the flow of the game. He did well to win the ball back on more than one occasion and kept up the pressure on a nine-man Goa side in the final moments of the game.
Antonio German – 7/10
Top scorer for Kerala last year, German replaced Chopra in the second half. He may have been brought on to turn up the heat on Goa, but he did his defensive bit too. He missed a couple of chances to score from close-range and won a few free-kicks for his team.
CK Vineeth – 8/10
Vineeth came on for Rafique in the 79th minute and was almost immediately brought down by Richarlyson. After coming on to a resounding welcome, he endeared himself to his supporters even more as he scored Kerala’s winning goal in the 98th minute of the game! He was lucky to be at the right place at the right time and would have been crazy to miss from so close.
FC Goa
Laxmikanth Kattimani – 6/10
Kattamani made his fair share of saves even though he did concede two goals. He made a few saves against Rafique and parried away attempts from German and Belfort but couldn’t keep out a spot kick and Vineeth’s close-range attempt.
Rafael Dumas – 6/10
Rafael exhibited some good defensive ability especially when Goa had to withstand waves of attack from the home side. However, he did make one particularly dangerous clearance into his own box.
Luciano Sobrosa – 7/10
Luciano had a busy night as he suffered an injury mid-game and was screaming and shouting at his teammates to fall into line. He made two strong consecutive clearances from inside his own box. He became an increasingly frustrated figure on the pitch as his team was down by two men.
Gregory Arnolin – 6/10
The cut on his head notwithstanding, Gregory was having a great game until the start of the second half. As soon as the match resumed, he was shown a direct red for handling the ball which looked like it was headed for goal. It was an unfortunate end to a night of commanding defending.
Raju Gaikwad – 6/10
Raju proved his mettle as Goa defended continuous waves of attack from Kerala. He did some good ditch-effort defending and was unfortunate to lose a point in the final minute of the game.
Sanjay Balmuchu – 6/10
One of Sanjay’s challenges forced Kerala forward Belfort to aim his shot wide and then did a decent job when he was moved to the back after Gregory was sent off. He made a strategic interception in his capacity as a defender late in the second half.
Richarlyson Felisbino – 6/10
Richarlyson was one of the most entertaining men on the field at Kochi. A couple of his free kicks were unlucky not to find their way into the back of the net as they found their way into Stack’s hands instead. He was sent off after a second yellow when he went into on Vineeth with a two-footed challenge and made quite a meal about going off.
Romeo Fernandes – 4/10
Romeo struggled to make much impact in the midfield area and repeatedly lost out to the Blasters’ players.
Mandar Rao Dessai - 5/10
Mandar displayed some great skill as he wove his way into the opposition's box after avoiding quite a few yellow shirts only to hit the side-netting.
Robin Singh - 6/10
Robin Singh was well-contained by the Kerala defenders as he was seen making more clearances than taking aim. He was taken off a little past the hour-mark after he sustained an injury.
Rafael Coelho Luiz – 6/10
Luiz scored the only goal for Goa as he headed in a great delivery from a free kick past Stack but was taken off at half-time.
Substitutes
Trindade Goncalves – 5/10
Trindade came on for the goalscorer at the start of the second half and made a nuisance of himself to the opposition until his team was reduced to nine men.
Sahil Tavora – 5/10
Tavora came on for Robin Singh but had very little opportunity to pull one back for his team as he was busier keeping Kerala out.
Debabrata Roy – 5/10.
Debabrata replaced Mandar in the 85th minute as defensive reinforcement.
