FT: Kerala Blasters 1-0 Delhi Dynamos
Kervens Belfort is the toast of Kerala, as the Haitian's solo goal proved to be the difference between the two sides.
There was plenty of drama from the game, as Belfort had a goal ruled out, Josu escaped a red card and conceding a penalty, while Delhi never managed to replicate their superb attacking verve, with Hengbart and Hughes absolutely brilliant in defence.
The Blasters take a narrow lead to Delhi, having defeated the Dynamos at home for the first time in their history.
This is Sunny Sagar signing off. Do take a look at our coverage of European football and return for the second legs in a couple of days.
Good night!
90+5' Jhingan makes the briefest of contact with Marcelinho in the box and he tumbles, but the referee does not get conned. Delhi players voice their protest and Gadze gets booked for dissent.
90+3' Marcelinho is down on the ground after running into Boris Kadio and the Delhi bench charges out in anger. Bit misplaced that, as even though it was off the ball, there was barely anything there for the referee to even concern himself with.
90+2' I really do not understand this from Delhi - they work the ball at the back in an unhurried manner, before a long ball forward finds Kean Lewis offside.
90' 4 minutes of injury time.
90' OOOH ! Sawmtea shoots a dipping volley from about 25 yards out and Nandy scrambles to make the save, but the ball flies narrowly wide.
88' Have my eyes deceived me? Marcelinho, he of Brazilian magic and jogo bonito, top scorer of the Indian Super League, sends a shot aimed at the top corner that ends up near the corner flag.
85' Belfort may get all the plaudits tonight, but Hengbart, Hughes, Jhingan and Boris Kadio have been magnificent tonight.
84' WHAT A SAVE! CK Vineeth runs clear on the right and shoots a fierce drive across goal that seems to have all of Kerala's power behind it, only for Doblas to stick an arm out and make a crucial save
83' Duckens Nazon is replaced by Michael Chopra
82' Memo and Kim Kima replace Marcos Tebar and Chinglensana
81' WHAT A BLOCK! Gadze collects a ball on the left side of the box, and sends in a low cross that would have given Malouda a tap-in , only for Hengbart to clear for a corner.
80' Groans ring out in the JN stadium as Rafi wastes a promising position with a poor cross. Admittedly he only had German to pass to, but Rafi could have just held on to the ball there.
79' Er, not like that Antonio. German is sent clear on the left side of the box and attempts a shot on the run, but miskicks the ball and twists himself to fall over in agony. Whether that is the agony of embarrassment, I cannot say.
78' Oooh nearly! Duckens Nazon wriggles his way into the box, but instead of crossing for Rafi at the far post opts to shoot, with the ball taking a deflection and being collected by Doblas.
76' Belfort comes off to huge applause, being replaced by Antonio German.
75' OFF THE LINE! HENGBART THE HERO! Marcelinho's header across goal looks to be heading into the top corner, only for Hengbart to scramble back and clear the ball off the line!
74' Good defending from Hengbart as he slides in to block Malouda's cross from the left. The French midfielder tries to take a short corner, but Hengbart clears again!
72' Delhi haven't manage to respond after going a goal behind. Gianluca Zambrotta will surely be disappointed at how his attack has underperformed tonight.
71' Milan Singh is replaced by Sawmtea
68' SHOT! Malouda wrong-foots his marker and cuts inside on his left foot, rifling in a low drive towards goal that Sandip gets down to save.
67' The crowd roars in approval as Sandip Nandy wastes a few minutes. Yes, even Nandy can get some cheers from this fantastic crowd.
65' WHAT A GOAL FROM BELFORT! The Haitian charges down the left wing, before making a fool out of Rocha with a stepover and running clear into the box. He shoots at goal, but the ball takes a deflection of Anas and trickles into the near post corner, with Doblas wrong-footed. The Kerala fans don't care a jot and raise the roof off the JN stadium! Kerala Blasters 1-0 Delhi Dynamos
65' GOAAAL KERVENS BELFORT!
64' WHAT A CHANCE! Nazon with a mazy run down the right wing beats all of his markers and gets to the byline before sending a shot on goal that Doblas saves.
63' Well at least he's trying - Mehtab sends in a free-kick from the right and Hengbart heads towards goal, but his effort goes wide.
62' I take back all my complaints about this game being too exciting in the opening 10 minutes- get us a goal, guys!
61' Mehtab sends in a low corner which is cleared out, but as the Blasters attempt to recycle the ball, the linesman flags for offside. It's been attritional stuff in the second half - we haven't seen much quality.
59' Marcelinho earns a free-kick as Boris prevents him from getting away on the counter. The referee opts not to book the Kerala defender though.
57' Anas is down and writhing about in pain, as his foot clatters into the studs of Nazon while clearing the ball. Even the local crowd looks concerned, as Anas is one of their own, remember.
55' Mehtab with another wonderful chip into the box, nearly finding Hengbart's head. Gret stuff from the Blasters anchorman.
54' NEARLY!!! Anas gets a yellow for a foul on Rafi and concedes a free kick. Mehtab sends in a wonderful free-kick from the right, and it is flicked on at the near post, narrowly clearing Jhingan's head with the goal at his mercy. Delhi haven't managed to do anything this half
53' This is getting real sloppy - Jhingan wastes a chance to cross into the box, with about 3-4 yellow shirts in the penalty are, miscuing his kick out for a goal-kick.
51' Et tu, Aaron? The centre-back wastes a promising position by opting to go for goal after Nazon had laid the ball off to him on the edge of the box. His effort is... lets just say he should stick to his day job.
50' CK VIneeth is absolutely free on the right wing, and Nazon obliges with a wonderful diagonal ball, but the Indian striker cannot control the ball and is forced wide. He earns a corner, but pounds his arms in frustration.
48' OH DEAR. Azrack Mahamat lies prone on the ground after being caught by Gadze.. Hang on, he rises like a phoenix from Chad and has miraculously recovered.
46' Doblas has collected two balls into the box in the first 45 seconds of the second half. That tells you all you need to know about whether Steve Coppell managed to inspire his players to attack in the second half.
46' PEEP PEEP PEEP! Kerala get us underway in the second half, kicking off from right to left
The teams have exited the tunnel - the second half is moments away!
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mumbai City | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 23 |
| 2 | Kerala Blasters | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 22 |
| 3 | Delhi Dynamos | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | Atlético de Kolkata | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 5 | NorthEast United | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
| 6 | Pune City | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | -3 | 16 |
| 7 | Chennaiyin | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | -5 | 15 |
| 8 | Goa | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | -10 | 14 |
event minute
FT: Ugly scenes at the end as both sides get into a brawl. Zambrotta calms things down by getting his own players off the pitch.