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Kerala Blasters' performance in the fourth edition of the ISL was not anywhere near their best. Despite coming up with a lot of expectations, they finished at 6th place and they were unable to qualify into the semi finals.
However, there were many players who performed their duty with utmost commitment for the Blasters. Some of their contributions came into fruition, but the end-product turned out to be below par for Kerala.
With the Hero Super Cup to look forward to, the Blasters have a chance at redemption and will depend on the whole team to rise to the occasion. But there are some players among them who raise the level of the whole team with their antics on the field.
Without further ado, here's a look at the list of players who played their part brilliantly this season:
#5 Sandesh Jhingan
Sandesh Jhingan was unable to take his side into the semi finals of the Indian Super League as their captain, but barring that minor hiccup, he was everything a team would expect of its dear captain.
On an individual note, Sandesh Jhingan was one among the best performers for Kerala Blasters this season. The ISL Season-1's emerging player stood solid at the back, marshaling the defense, commanding the air and firing up the fans with his heart.
On occasions, he surged upwards to help the Kerala Blasters on set-pieces, and he often switched his position into the flanks to assist the midfielders increase the intensity of attack.
Image courtesy: ISL
#4 Iain Hume
When KBFC announced the signing of Dimitar Berbatov, fans expected the duo of Hume and Berbatov to take the ISL by storm. However, things didn't go according to their expectations as Berbatov was a complete failure at midfield.
Iain Hume, however, was not.
He did his part brilliantly and came to the rescue of Kerala Blasters in crucial games. During Rene Meulensteen's time at Kerala, Dutch striker Mark Sifneos was the top-priority at the attacking third. However, after David James came in to steady the sinking ship, Hume got more opportunities and proved why he's one of ISL's legends.
The Canadian scored 5 goals for Kerala Blasters from 12 games, but the team missed his services at the final stages as he suffered from an injury.
Image courtesy: ISL
#3 Courage Pekuson
The condition of the midfield for KBFC was dreadful for most of the season as the team had only mediocre players in its ranks. Contrary to these features was Courage Pekuson, who fought harder than any player for the Blasters in the middle of the pitch.
The Ghanaian midfielder tried to break past deadlocks, and often helped the defenders too. The attacking midfielder never showed any discomfort to run the length of the pitch, and also supplied chances for the attackers to score.
He bagged a goal, while assisting 5 this season. His passing accuracy of 71.93% is a good figure; exceptional when compared with the figures around him.
However, the youngster became a momentary villain for Kerala Blasters, as he missed from the spot-kick in their match against Chennaiyin FC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which was a do-or-die fixture.
Discarding that, his role at Kerala Blasters can be termed as one befitting a hero in every way.
Image courtesy: ISL
#2 Gudjon Baldvinsson
The Icelandic forward replaced Mark Sifneos - who went on to join FC Goa - in the Kerala Blasters' squad. The striker worked hard for Kerala Blasters and often dispossessed his opponents despite not being entrusted with the job. He scored 1 goal and assisted another one for the Blasters in 6 games.
The player also has good stats when coming to defensive terms - he has 12 successful tackles from 6 games, where he played a total of 448 minutes. Apart from that, 3 blocks, 2 interceptions, 2 clearances are also testament to his defensive prowess.
Image courtesy: ISL
#1 Lalruatthara
Kerala Blasters' best player of this season was, inarguably, Lalruatthara. The former Aizawl man played a fantastic role for Kerala Blasters at the back.
Despite being just 23, Lalruatthara showed his versatility as he played his role at different positions for Kerala Blasters. Donning the yellow jersey for 1530 minutes this season, Lalruatthara's performance earned plaudits from fans and pundits alike - 85 tackles, 22 blocks, 59 clearances, 14 interceptions are not easy numbers to accumulate.
He also had a good passing accuracy of 63.87%, and made an average of 36.47 passes per game. In every aspect of the game, Lalruatthara proved his worth for KBFC this season.
Image courtesy: ISL
