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Delhi Dynamos failed again here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as the visiting Kerala Blasters nicked a 1-0 win to go third in the league table while the home team still remain rock bottom with 7 points from 9 games.
On a heart-breaking night for the hosts, the only goal of the game came on the hour mark as Penn Orji's shot from the edge of the box was deflected into the back of the net by Anwar Ali.
Harm van Veldhoven made as many as 6 changes from their previous failed outing against FC Goa. Elias was included in the starting line-up in place of Naoba Singh while Adil Khan took Steven Dias’ place, with Souvik Chakraborty replacing Bruno Arias and Shylo coming in for Robert. The attacking partnership of Skuobo and Dos Santos was switched with that of Del Piero and Junker.
Kerala Blasters on the other hand, started with six Indians, making two changes from the previous game with Hume and Gurwinder Singh replacing Penn Orji and Colin Falvey respectively in attack and defence.
High octane first half had everything but a goal
The first half started at a very high tempo with both the teams playing a slightly high line. Both the sides looked uneasy in possession in the final third but they persisted with their attacking endeavours.
The visitors could have had a real chance in the first minute had it not been for Hans Mulder's sliding interception down the left side. The pace never ceased to drop but as the half went on, real chances were far and few in between. Canadian forward Ian Hume looked like Kerala's best bet to get a goal, as he linked up well with Sabeeth and Saumik Dey down the left channel.
In the 39th minute, the Italian legend was about to break his ISL duck but his goal-bound header hit his teammate Adil Khan, who was also in a position to score. The home team could have gone a goal down from the resulting counter-attack but Hume's header from a Sabeeth cross missed the target as the first half ended without a goal.
Kerala deserved to hold on for the win
Both the teams did not slow down when the second half started with Delhi substituting Wim Raymaekers for Stijn Houben. The hosts pulled forward right at the start when Junker whipped a ball in from the right flank only for his teammates to make a mess of it by getting in each others' way again.
Penn Orji was brought on in the 55th minute as part of an attacking change and it couldn't have worked any better for David James' side as the Nigerian brought the much needed cutting edge up-front which was missing for the visitors. Five minutes after setting up Sabeeth for a shot from the edge of the box, Orji put the ball in the back of the net with a deflected shot from an Iain Hume cross after Kerala broke well on the counter.
The visitors could've gone two up had it not been for Van Hout's 6 feet 10 inche frame. Hume and Milagres' interplay resulted in a goalbound shot which was heroicly stopped by the Belgian.
The hosts were stunned and they brought on Dos Santos for Junker in response, but they lacked any real precision in attack. A number of corners were won but Del Piero's delivery was never utilized well, with only a single weak shot on target coming from one of them.
The hosts brought on the Danish striker Skuobo on in place of Hans Mulder in a bid to send more men forward but it wasn't meant to be as all the possession in the final third resulted in very few clear-cut chances. Dos Santos hit the target with a curling left footer, but it wasn't meant to be for the hosts as they suffered another defeat. The match ended with even Anwar Ali playing as a 3rd striker on a night which has virtually put the North Indian outfit out of the contention for a top-four spot.
