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Delhi Dynamos marked their return to action after the mid-season break in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) with a comfortable 2-0 win over Kerala Blasters at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Thursday.
Josep Gombau's men were hardly made to sweat over the course of the game, as the visitors turned on an insipid display to continue their miserable run of form so far this season.
The Men in Yellow were second-best for the entirety of the game and were handed their sixth defeat of the season courtesy of goals from Gianni Zuiverloon and Rene Mihelic, who opened his goal tally for the Dynamos with a composed penalty during the dying embers of the game.
Zuiverloon netted only his second goal for the club, after Kerala Blasters got their zonal marking terribly wrong from a corner kick delivered by Mihelic, when he got his foot to a floated ball into empty space inside the penalty area in the 28th minute.
The hosts completed the rout in second-half stoppage time when Lallianzuala Chhangte was brought down by Lalruatthara, who was subsequently given the marching orders for his last-ditch challenge inside the penalty box. That allowed Mihelic to put the result beyond any doubt.
Nelo Vingada will be concerned with the performance from his players after he named an unchanged starting eleven that showed signs of resurgence during their draw against ATK last week.
The Kochi-based franchise has made a habit of blowing hot and cold throughout the season and their debacle in the capital city is the latest installment in a serious of lamentable performances as a unit.
On the other hand, Delhi are starting to show some signs of revival since that elusive win over Chennaiyin FC before the mid-season break, and have now climbed to eighth, above Kerala Blasters on goal difference, in the league table.
Without further delay, let's take a closer look at the major talking points from the largely one-sided affair under the lights in Delhi.
#1 Dynamos fulfill free-flowing prophecy to put Blasters to the sword
Josep Gombau refers to the same school of thought that has developed some of the finest football in the history of the game in recent years.
However, the 42-year-old, who spent six years as a coach at La Masia in Barcelona, had struggled to successfully inculcate a similar approach that would yield results at Delhi Dynamos, since his appointment at the beginning of the ongoing season.
The Dynamos were easy on the eye on most occasions this term, but have failed to back it up with their output inside the opposition's final third. Despite relying on and executing a free-flowing style, they had failed to attain the desired results on a number of instances so far this season.
For all their miserable luck until now, the performance against Kerala Blasters gave an insight into what Gombau could be potentially cooking in the background at the club.
The Dynamos opted to stick with him through desperate times and it seems like a masterstroke after they secured back-to-back wins over Chennaiyin FC and the visitors tonight.
The hosts dominated proceedings right from the referee's first whistle and fulfilled their prophecy under the tutelage of Gombau to completely steam-roll over an insipid Kerala Blasters side.
Although the Dynamos ended up spurning plenty of chances, they managed to put them away at the right junctures to secure maximum points.
And that is exactly what they have been lacking till now and they have now presented themselves with perfect spring-board to work towards a better-than-expected finish to the season.
#2 Kerala Blasters hit a new low amidst turmoil on and off the pitch
The Kerala Blasters' winless run extended to 13 games after their latest disappointment against Delhi Dynamos on Thursday.
Despite playing catch-up to the hosts for the majority of the game, what would worry Nelo Vingada the most about the result will be the shift conjured by his players on the night.
The same playing eleven that showed a positive reaction against ATK the other week were nowhere near to matching the level of determination possessed by the hosts and were completely outplayed in Delhi.
Furthermore, the lack of enthusiasm and quality was evident in their dire display as the visitors succumbed to their sixth defeat of the season.
To make matters even worse, the fans have stayed away from supporting the club in recent games and with a hugely important derby day meeting with Bengaluru FC looming in the background, the signs make for grim-reading at the moment for the Kochi-based franchise.
If they continue to present their opponents with goal-scoring opportunities due to shoddy defending and poor reading of the game like they did against Delhi, they could put themselves in a point of no return very soon.
#3 The sky is the limit for Chhangte
Lallianzuala Chhangte was head and shoulders above his counterparts on the pitch as he proved to be a real thorn down the left flank against the Kerala Blasters.
The 21-year-old hailing from Mizoram has been Delhi Dynamos' star performer so far this season and showed why he deserved to walk away with the 'Hero of the Match' award at the end of proceedings.
Chhangte was constantly stirring up problems inside the visitors' final third whenever he got on the ball and looked the most threatening player on the pitch throughout the entirety of the game.
The winger's persistent hard work earned the Dynamos a penalty in second-half stoppage time and its successful conversion by Rene Mihelic completed the rout on the night.
However, it does not end there for Chhangte, who is set to undergo a 10-day trial with Viking FK in the Norwegian top-flight after the Dynamos allowed to release him for the temporary spell in February.
The omens look quite promising for Chhangte ahead of his proposed trial at Viking FK and the performance against Kerala Blasters will serve as huge confidence to the youngster, who is undoubtedly making a strong case for himself after being omitted from the AFC Asian Cup squad for India.
#4 Recruitment policy equally responsible for Blasters' mishaps?
Prior to deciding on parting ways with the Kerala Blasters, David James had maintained that the club are indeed happy with their recruitment policy, despite the poor run of form.
However, it is hard to ignore the fact that the foreign-recruits at the club have criminally underperformed and struggled for consistency over the course of the season.
One man, in particular, hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons against the Dynamos and it was Slavisa Stojanovic.
The Balkan forward struggled to make an impact on the night and did nothing on the pitch that justified his selection in the playing eleven.
The issue has been a recurring theme for the Kochi-based franchise so far this season with all of Stojanovic, Matej Poplatnik and Nemanja Lakic-Pesic blowing hot and cold at times.
The decision to retain the likes of Courage Pekuson and Keziron Kizito also make for grim-reading, especially considering both of them have been bit-part players at the club this season.
Nelo Vingada has not had an opportunity to voice an opinion on transfers and with the coach openly admitting he would have kept CK Vineeth and Halicharan Narzary, it again points the fingers to deal-makers at the club pulling the strings in the background.
#5 Sandesh Jhingan and the art of unwavering grit
Sandesh Jhingan was yet again a force to reckon with at the heart of Kerala Blasters' defence during the defeat to Delhi Dynamos on Thursday.
The skipper led by example as he fought tooth and nail to try and inspire his team-mates, but ended up on the losing side yet again this season.
Despite the result, Jhingan can be proud of his performance since he was the only player who functioned at his optimum level to try and limit the opposition.
The 25-year-old was not afraid of putting his body on the line and remained committed to the cause of preventing the opposition from opening the floodgates in their own backyard.
In the wake of such inspiring performances, it comes to us as no surprise why Jhingan is highly-rated by his peers and his unwavering grit irrespective of the stage or circumstances could prove to be an invaluable asset for both club and country in the years to come.
Although Jhingan missed out on keeping a clean slate against Delhi, his performances starting from the Asian Cup in UAE suggest that he is starting to find his best form on the pitch.
ALSO SEE: ISL Schedule | ISL Results | ISL Points Table
